This one should be really close, but I think we can just edge it.
Chiefs 26; Quins 24
It’s great to see Dorothy Wall back in action, but I was a bit surprised to see Linde vdV on the team sheet - she looked to be out cold on the pitch at Franklin’s Gardens last week, so I’d have expected a longer return to play protocol.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:11:14:16:35:21 by SixNineOne.
Great to see Dorothy Wall fit and back in the 23. Also Linde van Der Velden fit after last weeks nasty looking bang. I hope we can win but we must put in a mega kicking performance to stop Kildunne having the space to run in. .Last time they came too sandy park she was the stand out player on the pitch that day and still has that match defining ability, Keeping and holding on to our possession and not over kicking essential. Chiefs 32 Quins 30,
I was fortunate enough to see Ellie Kildunne play earlier this year at SP, showing why she was world player of the year. She was a class apart, a true match winner.
A great performance. The subs made a difference but there is a definite change in style. More offloading, ball retention and a noticeable change in several players jackalling. Flo Robinson, Maisy Allen and Liv McGoverne all had excellent games. Tactically excellent in the first half using the wind and a great defensive effort for much of the second.
That was a bit of nail-biter at the end, but to their credit, our women hung in there. Last week at Franklin's Gardens it looked like Flo, Liv and Alex had never met one another before, whereas this week they were operating as a much tighter unit and the backline looked much more confident as a result. I thought Emily Robinson and Linde vdV both had very strong games and Claudia M-M is just so competitive. Our defence was also colossal. Quins had some big ball carriers, particularly their 6 and 8, but we managed to contain them very well. The subs made a real difference. Dorothy Wall was a real force to be reckoned with, particularly as this was her first game back after a long lay-off, and Cli M-M's break that led to our fourth try was great. I'd like to see us being a bit more aggressive in the scrum, though. We have very strong starting and finishing front rows, but seemed content to let Flo whip the ball away rather than going for the secondary shove and winning a penalty.
The only disappointing thing was our inability to hang on to the ball - too often we were dispossessed in the tackle and the Quins jackallers were having a field day at the breakdown. We kept a lid on Ellie Kildunne for most of the game, but in typical fashion, she only needed a glimpse of a chance to score sublime try.
Overall, though, a very encouraging performance and I think our women can be justifiably proud.
Was the scoreboard operator hungover? Other than that, one hell of a game, the Quins women reminded the men how to give us a match but we still came away with the WBP.
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