đ Wasps Ladies welcome Bristol Bears to Twfyord Avenue with the hosts looking to continue their impressive start to a new decade of action in the Tyrrells Premier 15s. Kick-off is at 1.30pm with admission on the gate at ÂŁ5.
2020 got off to a fine start for Wasps Ladies – a road trip to Darlington Mowden Park Sharks for Round 11 in the Premier 15s ending in a comprehensive 45-7 victory for Wasps. The match at Northern Echo Arena was done and dusted at half-time – the visitors 31-0 up – and a rampant Wasps side returned back to London with a job impressively well done and five points (including a bonus-point) in the bag.
Fifth in the table on 31 points Wasps Ladies now have their sights set on overhauling Gloucester-Hartpury Women and Loughborough Lightning – who are in fourth and third place on 34 points and 38 points respectively – in order to climb into the play-off places.
Standing in Wasps way this afternoon are a Bristol Bears Women team full of confidence after running in eight tries in a 48-0 thumping of bottom side Firwood Waterloo Ladies last weekend.
Ones to watch: Wasps scrum half and England international Claudia MacDonald – after her fine performance against the Sharks – will again look to pull the strings for the hosts while Bristol Bears centre Phoebe Murray is a big threat after running in a hat-trick of tries in the Bears recent demolition of Firwood.
đ Kick-off is at 1.30pm .
đď¸ Admission is on the gate priced at ÂŁ5.
đđ Travel tips: Public transport is recommended. Ealing Common tube station – which is on both the District and Piccadilly lines – is the nearest station. Likewise West Acton tube station on the Central Line is within walking distance of the ground. Car parking is available on site if driving to the match.
About the Premier 15s: The Tyrells Premier 15s is a competition featuring the best club sides in England taking place from August to April and run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). A top tier of womenâs rugby union has existed since 1990 leading to an improvement in Englandâs fortunes on the international stage which saw the âRed Rosesâ win the Womenâs Rugby World Cup in 2014 and finish runners up in 2017.
The Premier 15s (also known as Womenâs Super Rugby) was launched in September 2017 to support the Red Rosesâ ambition to be the number one team in the world. 10 teams were invited to take part in the competition â largely drawn from existing Womenâs Premiership teams – which receives a multi-million pound investment from the RFU to help deliver the minimum standards expected and provide high-quality coaching, facilities, training environments and community engagement plans. Saracens Women were the inaugural champions beating London rivals Harlequins in the play-off final.
There is no relegation or promotion for the first three years of the competition and each team plays each other, both at home and away – over a total of 18 rounds – with the top four teams going through to the play-offs. The winners of the two semi-finals progress to the Grand Final in April 2020, which in 2019 was held at Northampton Saintsâ Franklinâs Gardens ground.
The play-off final winners will be crowned the 2019/2020 Premier 15s champions. The current champions are Saracens Women who beat Harlequins 33-17 last April at Franklin’s Gardens.
The Premier 15s teams for season 2019/2020 are Bristol Bears Women, Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, Firwood Waterloo Ladies, Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s RFC, Harlequins Women, Loughborough Lightning, Richmond FC, Saracens Women, Wasps FC Ladies and Worcester Warriors.
In the London area there are 4 teams to watch; Saracens Women (who play their home matches at Allianz Park), Wasps Ladies (Twyford Sports), Richmond Women (based at Richmond Athletic Ground) and Harlequins Women (based in Guildford and Twickenham Stoop).
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