Well, we’ve spent the summer dipping into the amuse bouches of the Lions in Australia, England in the Americas and the pool stages of the women’s World Cup. But now, it’s time to sit down at the banqueting table for the real deal: the return of the PWR and the Premiership.
Starting with the women, because they started first.
It seems an age ago that I was in the posh seats at Salford, at the end of the Australia-Samoa game, silently cursing the Sale Sharks women’s feed for tardiness in updating their TwiX feed. It had been nearly ten minutes since the last post reporting that Sale were 38-27 up with about five minutes to go. Had they held on? After all, they were away at Loughborough, not usually a happy hunting ground.
Eventually, there it was: Full-time, Loughborough Lightning 27, Sale Sharks 38. Blimey. I had been watching the personnel changes happening after the end of the previous season with interest and mounting excitement for what was to come. I mean, as if announcing the signing of Amy Cokayne wasn’t enough, they only went and bagged Holly Aitchison! Holly Aitchison… I still find it incredible that we have that to look forward to.
Add to that the revelation that was Erica Jarrell-Searcy at the World Cup, plus another twelve women scattered around the competition still to return, and I think we have some justification for anticipating a significantly better season to come than last (well, it couldn’t have been much worse, could it?).
So, I turned up at Heywood Road on Sunday, anticipating… what? A decent performance? A step up from last year? What we got was unrecognisable from last season. There was a confidence, a swagger, more cohesion about the way they played. It’s more of a feeling — a vibe — than it is anything overt. Much of the team was recognisable from last season, but there was something in the way they interacted: offloads worked, balls stuck in the hand, better lines of attack.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying ‘blyddi Nora, they’re good now’.
Along with the overall impression of a more cohesive team, some individual highlights are worth pointing out.
I don’t think I’m being unkind to say that, up till now, Lizzy Duffy’s kicking did not inspire confidence. It sounded as if she’d managed to pick a seriously under-inflated ball to kick: it left the boot with a sort of wet ‘floomph’ sound. Well, I’m happy to say that she’s been working on it and now the kicks go with a solid ‘thump’ and a confident arc through the air. Five conversions, too, some of them from wide on the wrong side. She’s going to learn so much being in proximity to Holly Aitchison.
With that improvement in the kicking game, she’s now dictating the back play more confidently. Where before they’d eschew a kick over the top, now she’s putting the ball in space behind the defence. Touchline kicks are gaining another ten metres. And this is coupled with a more fluid backline and better distribution, leading to more opportunities.
And the pack… Looking at the stats for the first two games, they are looking good on all metrics: scrum, lineout, ruck and maul. And you could certainly see it in this game; a couple of mauled tries early on, dominant scrums… it was all there.
On the subject of the pack, I want to single out one player who really caught my eye: the No. 8, Sharifa Kasolo. Very impressive in the carry, at the breakdown and off the base of the scrum. My player of the match: I’m looking forward to seeing more of her.
OK, this is the PWR Cup, not the PWR. Tigers are a shadow of last season’s team, and this is happening during the women’s World Cup, when many of the ‘top’ teams are significantly weakened, so let’s not get carried away.
They’ll get a more serious test in the next game with the visit of Saracens. I’ll be there and then trying to get from Heywood Road to Salford in time for the men’s PRC match. I’m feeling upbeat that we can finally give Sarries a bit of a fright, but, win or lose, this is shaping up to be a good year for the women.
So get down there and support them. Stop whinging about Ticketmaster charging £5 for your free season ticket; take advantage of a ridiculously generous offer from our owners and get down and enjoy some bloody good rugby in a proper rugby club with much better beer and food options than those at Salford.
an old grey dog 