MATCH REPORT | Saracens Women 33-24 Bristol Bears (PWR Rd 11)
Saracens Women secured a crucial bonus-point win to move themselves within a point of top heading into the Christmas break.
Against a Bristol side that packed in the power throughout the match, Saracens showed off their resilience as they recovered from a 14-0 deficit to secure a crucial win.
The Bears started this Christmas cracker the stronger, with some brutal carries into the Saracens 22 that ultimately led to Rownita Martson-Mulhearn crashing over from close range.
Bristol were in the mood to continue to assert their dominance and, with Zoe Harrison sent to the bin after she slowed the ball down following a massive Sarah Bern break, Abbie Ward made no mistake from close range to add another to the tally.
Sarries needed a response and they found it straight from the restart, as a huge turnover in midfield allowed Sarah McKenna to go to touch, with May Campbell crashing over from the back of the driving maul.
One try soon became two after a monster 50:22 from McKenna put Saracens on the front foot.
Having gone close a number of times, eventually, it was McKinley Hunt who burrowed over from close range, with Zoe Harrison levelling the tie.
Saracens were on the charge now and they soon had a third, as Kelsey Clifford scored one of the tries of the season, with a stunning break through the middle of the park, to burst over from 30m and put her side ahead of the first time in the afternoon.
Saracens were continuing to press and probe, with the Bears having to be resilient to stay in the fight.
What was becoming a theme though was the Bears’ dominance at scrum-time, as they continued to win penalties on both their own and the Saracens feeds.
Eventually, their pressure told, with a kick to the corner allowing Lark Atkin-Davies to surge over from the rolling maul.
Holly Aitchison missed the conversion, to leave it at a 2-point game at the break.
The second-half saw the Bears continue their dominance at the set-piece, as they continued to stick in and around the Saracens 22.
Alysha Corrigan popped up with a crucial turnover for her side, but every time it came to the scrum, the Bears were able to assert their dominance and put themselves back into the red zone.
With penalties mounting, Saracens looked to utilise the bench, as they continued to withstand the barrage from the Bears attack.
Eventually though, with penalties mounting, Akina Gondwe saw yellow at the scrum and from the penalty, the visitors spun it wide, allowing Jasmine Joyce-Butchers to race in on the hour mark and put her side back ahead.
Sarries were a player down, but they hit back instantly, as they hassled and harried Bristol in a knock-on deep in their own 22 and from there, they made no mistake, as Leanne Infante spotted a gap out wide, allowing Harrison to cross on her 100th appearance to retake the lead.
Carmen Tremelling had made her way onto the field and was making an impact in shoring up the scrum, as well as in the loose and her side her given an opportunity to finish the match with a player advantage, as Simi Pam was shown a yellow card for head-on-head contact, reducing the Bears to 14.
With pressure continuing to mount, Sarries went to the corner, putting the Bears under all sorts of pressure.
As the clock entered the final five, the pack went to work again, and May Campbell crashed over for her second, with Harrison’s conversion extending the gap to 9 heading into the final few minutes.
With the result now secured, the Bears still looked to hunt for a second bonus point and were given an opportunity when they were given a penalty in front of the posts in the final moments of the game.
Aitchison though, missed the kick, allowing Saracens to see out the game and secure a crucial 5-point win.
