Trailfinders Women took all the points from the Salford Community Stadium with a 26-10 victory over Sale Sharks.
Kate Zackary’s brace, along with tries from Emma Swords and Rosie Inman, secured the victory away from home.
The five points mean Trailfinders move within one point of Harlequins, remaining seventh in the table heading into the Six Nations break.
Zackary gave the travellers the perfect start just a minute into the contest. The American picked the ball from the base of the ruck and completed a barnstorming run from 40m out to score a contender for the Allianz PWR’s Try of the Week.
Elie Green added the extras with a remarkable conversion from the left touchline, continuing her red-hot form this year.
Trailfinders stayed on top with a concoction of cross kicks and grubbers, pinning the Sharks in their 22.
From one such grubber, Sale dropkicked poorly from their try line, and Trailfinders put together some beautiful phases, allowing Inman to finish brilliantly in the right corner.
Trailfinders continued to create chances but failed to convert until Swords jumped on a loose Sale lineout, only 5m from their line, crashing over with ease.
As a result, Trailfinders went in at the break 19-0 in the ascendency, searching for the try-bonus in the second term.
The second half, however, did not start in such a free-flowing fashion as the first.
Both sides struggled with accuracy, and most of the rugby was played between the two 22s.
So much so that we had to wait until the 69th minute for the first score of the second half. Sale with their first of the contest, crossing from short range.
Then came Zackary’s second, pouncing on another loose Sharks lineout and stretching out to reach the whitewash.
A Sharks consolation score followed, leaving the final score 26-10 to Trailfinders, with a lot of smiles on faces as the away side started the long trip back from the North West.
Trailfinders Women lost 38-10 to Bristol Bears Women in their PWR clash at TFSC.
Tries from Cristina Blanco and Vicky Laflin were not enough on a tough outing under the lights, which leaves Trailfinders Women seventh in the PWR table.
The home side opened the scoring from a brilliant one-two move off the lineout which left Cristina Blanco free to cruise over the line in the corner. The conversion was missed.
Bristol hit back as they capitalised on successive Trailfinders penalties, with Gwenllian Pyrs crashing over the whitewash off the pick and go. Amber Reed added the extras.
Discipline continued to be costly for the home side, and Bristol took full advantage again as Lark Atkin-Davis scored a try off the rolling maul. Reed was unable to convert.
Bears were then reduced to 14 as Hannah Botterman was sent to the sin bin.
Trailfinders Women took full advantage as Julia Schell put in a delightful cross-field kick to Laflin, who used her burst of pace to outrun the last defender and score superbly. The conversion was missed.
Just before the stroke of halftime, Bristol extended their lead through Lark Atkin-Davis again, as she burst through a defender to crash over the line. Reed added the conversion to leave the score 12-19 at the break.
Atkin-Davis started the second half just as she finished the first, this time scoring off the rolling maul for her third of the day. Reed couldn’t add the extras.
The rest of the second half was a cagey affair, with Trailfinders consistently threatening and much the better side, but unable to reduce the deficit.
In the closing stages Bristol scored yet another try off the rolling maul, this time from Lana Skeldon. Meryl Smith’s conversion was successful.
Bristol Bears finished the game off ruthlessly with a try from the last play of the game, as a big breakaway set up the away side on Trailfinders five-metre line, and Skeldon scored her second in a matter of minutes off the pick and go. Smith added the extras to leave the final score 38-10.
Trailfinders Women took their Allianz PWR points tally to 18 with a thunderous 29-14 victory over Leicester Tigers at Welford Road.
A brace from Liz Crake tries from Julia Schell and Abby Dow, and a Schell penalty gave the travelling side their third win in the league.
They move two points behind Harlequins in sixth with a game in hand on the Fellow West London outfit.
The match started slowly, with the first ten minutes featuring more kicking than usual in the Women’s game; both sides reacting to the damp Welford Road pitch, making the ball skid off the turf.
Trailfinders’ first opportunity would come 12 minutes in as Vicky Laflin broke down the right wing, only to be corralled just short of the Tiger’s line.
The home side were penalised as they scrambled to stop Trailfinders, who took the quick tap, and Crake crashed over the line to open the scoring.
The second try came just five minutes later. Laflin picked a sharp line off a scrum, breaking through untouched, and the winger fed Schell, who broke through two half tackles to score.
Trailfinders continued to dominate the play as Tigers struggled to get out of their half.
Then Trailfinders again broke through the Leicester line, held just short of the try line by the scrambling defence. However, Tigers were called for a knock-on and, due to an early shove from the home side, Trailfinders quick-tapped the free kick, and Dow finished clinically in the right corner.
Tigers answered right back through Elis Martin just two minutes later as Trailfinders momentarily took their collective feet off the gas. However, this was a minor blip.
Crake finished the second half perfectly for Trailfinders, smashing through Tigers’ wall at the end of a series of pick-and-go’s.
As a result, the teams would enter the sheds with the scoreboard reading 26-7 Trailfinders.
Despite the first half dominance of the team in purple, Leicester would be the ones to come flying out of the break.
Tahlia Brody scored just three minutes after the restart, giving Trailfinders a worrying wake-up call.
However, Trailfinders quickly took the reins back, and Schell’s right boot would widen the gap to more than two scores after eight minutes of the second term.
The away side continued to toil and had multiple opportunities to score for the rest of the second half. However, the scorers were not troubled for the remainder of the game.
As a result, Trailfinders took all of the points in what was arguably their most complete performance in their maiden Allianz PWR voyage.
Trailfinders Women were defeated 48-17 by Saracens at the StoneX Stadium in Round 10 of the Allianz PWR.
Tries from Megan Barwick, Abby Dow and Rosie Inman were not enough to give Trailfinders any points from their trip to Barnet.
The result leaves them 7th in the Allianz PWR after nine games in their new competition.
The first half was much closer than many would have predicted before the first whistle, with the home side entering the occasion as heavy favourites.
Three early scores gave Saracens the start they would have expected, with the scoreboard reading 17-0 after 14 minutes. However, Trailfinders did not just roll over.
The first meaningful possession for Trailfinders gave Barwick the opportunity to crash over the line from close range.
Two minutes later, Vicky Laflin broke free down the right-hand side, unselfishly feeding Dow under the sticks to put Trailfinders back in the contest at 17-12.
Saracens would be next to cross the whitewash with a trademark rolling maul score, meaning Trailfinders went in at halftime 22-12, behind but still very much in the game.
However, the three-time league champions clearly got the team talk right, and Trailfinders’ second half would not be as fruitful as the first.
Three unanswered tries for the North London outfit put Trailfinders’ hopes of a famous upset out of reach, making it 41-12 with 15 minutes to play.
Despite the scoreboard deficit, Trailfinders kept battling, and Rosie Inman finished off a well-worked try after a Cristina Blanco break.
One more try for Saracens would close the game out, leaving the final score 48-17, and Trailfinders 7th in the table before they travel to Welford Road to face Leicester Tigers.
Trailfinders Women fell to a 45-21 defeat against Loughborough Lightning away at a windy Loughborough University.
Tries for Carys Cox, Vicky Laflin and Sara Seye were not enough to take any points from their trip to the midlands.
This leaves Trailfinders Women 7th in the Allianz PWR table, with two wins from the first half of the season.
Loughborough dominated the first 10 minutes, with Trailfinders finding it difficult to exit from their own 22 into the wind.
As a result, Helen Nelson powered over at the back of a rolling maul for the home side with nine minutes gone in the game.
This score was quickly followed by a second for the Lightning off the back of another driving maul, making it 12-0 in as many minutes.
Trailfinders fired right back, though, and after the ball was worked wide, Abby Dow got on the end of a kick through and unselfishly fed Cox over the try line.
Sadia Kabeya would then add to the early flurry of tries, making the score 19-7 to the Lightning in only 18 minutes.
The frantic points scoring would then take a brief pause until the 31st minute, only for Loughborough to score back-to-back tries through Catherine O’Donnell and Bulou Mataitoga.
Despite the bleak scoreboard showing, Trailfinders continued to toil into the wind. Vicky Laflin steamed through a gap in the Lightning midfield just before halftime and crossed the white wash from 50 m out.
That try made it 33-14 heading into the break, leaving Trailfinders a big job in the second term if they were to get anything from their travels.
In the second half, it looked like they might make that improbable comeback reality.
Sara Seye crashed over the line from short range just 3 minutes into the second half to cut the deficit to two scores.
However, as much as Trailfinders tried, they could not find another breakthrough, with the Lightning going on to score two more tries in the final ten minutes, meaning the final score would read 45-21.
Unbeaten Gloucester-Hartpury edged Trailfinders Women in a ten-try 33-27 thriller.
Tries from Liz Crake (2), Ella Amory, Vicky Laflin and Julia Schell were not enough against the reigning champions, who ran in five tries.
However, Trailfinders secured a crucial losing bonus point in a brave performance to keep them in 7th place in the PWR table.
Gloucester-Hartpury opened the scoring via Rachel Lund after a flowing move left a two-on-one down the left flank, and Lund was able to score with ease.
Trailfinders hit back emphatically through Crake as she bundled over the whitewash after sustained pressure within the Gloucester-Hartpury 5m line. Rosie Inman missed the extras.
Gloucester-Hartpury then scored against the run of play as Lleucu George finished off a fine move orchestrated between herself and Cath Richards between the Trailfinders lines. George then converted her try.
However, Trailfinders answered again as Crake scored her second try of the day in a similar fashion to her first, powering over the gain line and grounding the ball impressively after some brilliant team play. Inman was unable to convert.
The momentum continued to swing in opposite directions after each score as Gloucester-Hartpury took their turn to crash over the whitewash following a dominant rolling maul from the Trailfinders’ 22. George converted again.
Gloucester-Hartpury scored again just before halftime, as their dominance at the scrum paid off, and Sarah Beckett was able to drive over the line. George extended her impressive tally to leave the score 24-10 at halftime.
The start to the second half was all Trailfinders, and eventually, they made it count as Amory finished off a big turnover in the Gloucester-Hartpury 22 in slick style. Inman’s conversion crashed off the posts and missed.
Trailfinders continued in the ascendance, and a brilliant breakaway from Cristina Blanco off a scrum in Trailfinders’ half set up Laflin to cruise in and score. Inman’s conversion effort was missed.
Gloucester-Hartpury dampened a lively comeback as a looping pass allowed Natasha Hunt to score. George continued finely with yet another classy conversion.
Schell scored the all-important final try in the game’s last play, setting up a massive kick for Ellie Green to secure the losing bonus point, and she did so in fine fashion, ending the game 33-27.
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