MATCH REPORT | Saracens Women 21-29 Bristol Bears Women (Allianz PWR SF)
Saracens Women missed out on a place in the final, as Bristol Bears secured a victory at StoneX Stadium.
On a day filled with emotion and tension, Sarries looked to start fast to get the home crowd off their feet.
It was the Bears who initially made the quick start though, before Sophie de Goede stole the ball at lineout time and powered through the tackles to within reach of the line.
May Campbell then went close, but the Bears held out and looked to hit back, only for Sarries to win a turnover at the crucial moment.
With the game ebbing and flowing, Sarries eventually found the breath through, with a beautiful first phase try that saw Jess Breach and Paige Farries combine to set Coreen Grant free on the wing.
Despite the pressure coming on from the Bears, Grant had just enough in the tank to dot down and open the scoring, with Harrison converting from out wide.
The set-piece was turning into a lottery with both sides guilty of misplaced lineouts and equally getting in amongst the opposition to win ball at crucial times.
Sarries though were able to stick to task and they scored a second on the 25-minute mark, as McKinley Hunt rampaged through the Bristol defence to power over for the second score of the afternoon.
Bristol were beginning to win penalties at the breakdown though, with Amber Reed kicking them into dangerous parts of the field and they hit back, with Lark Atkin-Davies going over from the back of a maul to narrow the gap going into the break.
Sarries’ defence had been strong throughout, but the Bears were beginning to find cracks, with Atkin-Davies going over for a second of the match shortly after half-time from another driving maul.
It was all Bristol at this point, and they hit the front just before the 50-minute mark, with Courtney Keight going over out wide.
Sarries needed to try and wrestle back momentum and they thought they’d found it, as Harrison was able to feed Paige Farries, who regathered a ball that was illegally slapped down and crossed.
It didn’t matter though, as the referee awarded a penalty try, with Reneeqa Bonner sent to the bin, as Sarries edged themselves back ahead.
The Bears continued to fire back into the game though and Atkin-Davies notched her hattrick from close-range to send her side back into the lead.
Sarries needed to find a response but Bristol kept coming, as Sarries lost Leanne Infante and Emma Taylor to quickfire yellow cards.
With the clock ticking down, Bonner darted in for a try that sealed the match for the Bears and with it, their place in the Allianz PWR final in two weeks’ time.
