Gloucester-Hartpury v Trailfinders Women

Match Report

Trailfinders Women lost 33-31 to defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury in a blockbuster game at Kingsholm.

A brace from Rori Wood and tries from Tyson Beukeboom, Alivia Leatherman and Liz Musgrove gave Trailfinders two losing bonus points from their travels.

The result means Trailfinders remain 7th in the PWR, one point behind Loughborough Lightning with a game in hand.

The game kicked off and Gloucester-Hartpury instantly showed why they are the team to beat in the PWR.

They scored twice in the first twenty minutes through Natasha Hunt and Mackenzie Carson.

However, as the first quarter ended, the tide changed, and Trailfinders were on the front foot.

Trailfinders set up a midfield maul and Gloucester-Hartpury, perhaps confused by the strange tactics, were penalised for in at the side.

Gloucester-Hartpury stopped the resultant maul, but from the following pick and gos, Wood got Trailfinders on the board from short range.

From the restart, Trailfinders were right back into the hosts’ 22. In a similar fashion to her Canadian counterpart, Beukeboom crashed over from short range to bring Trailfinders within two points.

Near parity, however, the visitors switched off for a second as the half drew to a close, and Hunt scored her second as the clock ticked into the red to widen Gloucester’s lead.

Half-Time: Gloucester-Hartpury 21-12 Trailfinders Women

Trailfinders came out of the sheds undeterred by the two-score gap and won an early penalty, setting up another midfield maul.

Gloucester-Hartpury seemingly stopped it and turned the ball over, and Pip Henry ran down the left wing to score.

However, the TMO called it back as the hosts were at the side of the Trailfinders maul, and after going to the corner, Wood got her second of the game from short range.

Trailfinders continued to force the agenda, and after Lisa Thomson pounced on an errant Steph Else pass, Leatherman powered over to give the visitors an unlikely lead.

Gloucester then replied through Neve Jones and Nel Metcalfe, giving the hosts a nine-point lead heading into the closing stages and making most of the fans inside Kingsholm think, “Game over.”

The visitors refused to be beaten, though. After a Gloucester knock-on, the hosts had no one in the backfield, so Caity Mattinson found turf, and Musgrove latched onto the end of the kick to score.

Gloucester flew forward imperiously in response and worked their way up to Trailfinders’ 5m line as the clock ticked into the red, but Chloe Rollie intercepted, and the visitors made it up to the hosts’ 22.

Trailfinders came within inches of the most famous victory in their history, but an untimely knock-on over the line meant Gloucester came away with five points.

Full-time: Gloucester-Hartpury 33-31 Trailfinders Women

Tries

Gloucester-Hartpury:

Hunt (5, 39) Carson (21) Jones (60) Metcalfe (67)

Trailfinders:

Wood (31, 47) Beukeboom (36) Leatherman (54) Musgrove (74)

Conversions

Gloucester-Hartpury:

George (5, 21, 40, 67)

Schell (31, 55, 75)

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