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PWR

Bristol and Gloucester-Hartpury name teams for Allianz PWR Final

(Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

The line-ups for the upcoming Allianz PWR final have been confirmed, with Gloucester-Hartpury naming an unchanged side from their semi-final team and Bristol Bears making three changes.

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Gloucester-Hartpury’s Head Coach Sean Lynn has named an unchanged starting XV from their semi-final victory over Exeter Chiefs.

A front row of Mackenzie Carson, Neve Jones, and Maud Muir will lead the pack, supported by Sarah Beckett and Sam Monaghan in the engine room.

Co-captain Zoe Aldcroft will start at No.8, flanked by Georgia Brock and Bethan Lewis. Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt will start at scrum-half with Lleucu George outside her. The midfield combination of Tatyana Heard and Hannah Jones remains intact, with Pip Hendy, Mia Venner and Emma Sing in the backfield.

The replacements bench includes Amy Dale, El Perry, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Kate Williams, and Steph Else covering forwards, while Bianca Blackburn, Millie Hyett and Rachel Lund are available as backs replacements.

Gloucester-Hartpury have won 11 of their last 14 Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby matches against Bristol Bears, including each of their last six, however, three of their last four wins against the Bears have come by margins of fewer than 10 points.

In contrast Bristol Bears have made three changes to their line-up from the semi-final against Saracens. The return of England star Sarah Bern from long-term injury strengthens their front row, joining international teammates Hannah Botterman and Lark Atkin-Davies.

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Courtney Keight replaces the injured Deborah Wills on the wing, and Scotland international Meryl Smith is named at full-back, with Ella Lovibond moving to the bench.

Head Coach Dave Ward said: “We’re both proud and excited to be competing in the final of the Allianz PWR on Saturday. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to make history and we’re relishing the challenge ahead of us. We have a huge amount of respect for Gloucester-Hartpury and what they have achieved, but after two close games against them this season, we arrive here today confident that we can be the team lifting the trophy come full time.”

Bristol Bears have won six of their last seven Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby matches, only failing to beat Sale Sharks during the final round of the regular season (24-27).

Gloucester: 15 Emma Sing; 14 Mia Venner, 13 Hannah Jones, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Pip Hendy; 10 Lleucu George, 9 Natasha ‘Mo’ Hunt (CC); 1 Mackenzie Carson, 2 Neve Jones, 3 Maud Muir, 4 Sarah Beckett, 5 Sam Monaghan, 6 Georgia Brock, 7 Bethan Lewis and 8 Zoe Aldcroft (CC)

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Replacements: 16. Amy Dale, 17. El Perry, 18. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 19. Kate Williams, 20. Steph Else, 21. Bianca Blackburn, 22. Millie Hyett, 23. Rachel Lund

Bristol: 15. Meryl Smith; 14. Reneeqa Bonner, 13. Phoebe Murray, 12. Holly Aitchison, 11. Courtney Keight, 10. Amber Reed, 9. Keira Bevan; 1. Hannah Botterman, 2. Lark Atkin-Davies, 3. Sarah Bern, 4. Delaney Burns, 5. Abbie Ward, 6. Alisha Butchers, 7. Evie Gallagher, 8. Rownita Marston-Mulhearn.

Replacements: 16. Jess Sprague, 17. Simi Pam, 18. Elliann Clarke, 19. Hollie Cunningham, 20. Gabriella Nigrelli, 21. Lucy Burgess, 22. Ella Lovibond, 23. Jenny Hesketh.

Match official:  Sara Cox.

Assistant Referees: Harry Walbaum and Holly Woo

TMO: Nikki O’Donnell

The match kicks off at 3 pm.

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f
fl 1 hour ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Why do you downplay his later career, post 50? He won a treble less than two years ago, with a club who played more games and won more games than any other team that managed the same feat. His crowning achievement - by his own admission.”

He’s won many trebles in his career - why do you only care about one of them?

I think its unsurprising that he’d feel more emotional about his recent achievements, but its less clear why you do.


“Is it FA cups or League cups you’re forgetting in his English trophy haul? You haven’t made that clear…”

It actually was clear, if you knew the number he had won of each, but I was ignoring the league cup, because Germany and Spain only have one cup competition so it isn’t possible to compare league cup performance with City to his performance with Bayern and Barcelona.


“With Barcelona he won 14 trophies. With Bayern Munich he won 5 trophies. With City he has currently won 18 trophies…”

I can count, but clearly you can’t divide! He was at Barca for 4 years, so that’s 3.5 trophies per year. He was at Bayern for 3 years, and actually won 7 trophies so that’s 2.3 trophies per year. He has been at City for 8 completed seasons so that’s 2.25 trophies per year. If in his 9th season (this one) he wins both the FA cup and the FIFA club world cup that will take his total to 20 for an average of 2.22 trophies per year.


To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. In fact by most metrics he has gotten worse!

182 Go to comments
f
fl 3 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“He made history beyond the age of 50. History.”

He made history before the age of 50, why are you so keen to downplay Pep’s early career achievements? In 2009 he won the sextuple. No other manager in history had achieved that, and Pep hasn’t achieved it since, but here you are jizzing your pants over a couple of CL finals.


“If continuing to break records and achieve trophies isn't a metric for success”

Achieving trophies is a metric for success, and Pep wins fewer trophies as he gets older.


“He's still competing for a major trophy this year. Should he get it, it would be 8 consecutive seasons with a major trophy. Then the world club cup in the summer.”

You’re cherry picking some quite odd stats now. In Pep’s first 8 seasons as a manager he won 6 league titles, 2 CL titles, & 4 cup titles. In Pep’s last 8 seasons as a manager (including this one) he’s won 6 league titles, 1 CL title, & 2 (or possibly 3) cup titles. In his first 8 seasons he won the FIFA world club cup 3 times; in his last 8 seasons he’s won it 1 (or possibly soon to be 2) time(s). In his first 8 seasons he won the UEFA super cup 3 times; in his last 8 he won the UEFA super cup once. His record over the past 8 seasons has been amazing - but it is a step down from his record in his first 8 seasons, and winning the FA cup and FIFA club world cup this summer won’t change that.


Pep is still a brilliant manager. He will probably remain a brilliant manager for many years to come, but you seem to want to forget how incredible he was when he first broke through. To be clear - you said that Pep had gotten better with age by every metric. That was false!

182 Go to comments
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