Report: Worcester Warriors Women 19-21 Bristol Bears Women

Ella Lovibond, Phoebe Murray and Hannah West all touched down for Dave Ward's side, as they held off a late Worcester surge to seal the bronze medal.

A strong start to the match saw the Bears open the scores in the opening two minutes. After piling on the pressure on Worcester’s defence a huge driving maul from the pack sent Hannah West over for the opening try. Lucie Skuse converting to give the visitors the early lead.

Bears kept asserting their dominance in the next few stages of play leaving Worcester to scramble their defences before manging to clear. But Bristol were quick to reset and an attack in Worcester’s half saw Lilly Stoeger-Goddard find Ella Lovibond on her inside to race under the sticks to score. Skuse adding the extras.

Worcester tried to get into the game and a solid ball carry made way for Cara Brincat to snipe her way over the line for the try. The conversion narrowing the scores.

But the Bears answered back almost immediately! Phoebe Murray with the break to score the third try for her side. Skuse having no issues slotting the conversion to extend Bristol’s lead 7-21 on the half hour mark.

Worcester had the final say of the opening half with El Febrey stretching over the line off the back of a driving maul to score, the conversion putting the scores at 14-21 at the break.

Coming out for the second half both sides struggled to break the deadlock and put their names on the scoreboard in an arm wrestle of a third quarter.

In the 60^th minute, Worcester’s patient build up paid off with Lyndsay O’Donnell grounding the ball for the try. No conversion kept Bristol just ahead at 19-21.

Moments later, O’Donnell was on the receiving end of a yellow card for an infringement at the breakdown.

Heading into the final 10 minutes, Bristol looked to utilise the extra player, setting up a ferocious attack in Worcester’s half. But a strong defence from Worcester forced the knock on to hand the hosts the scrum in their own 22.

Just as the clock ran down, play came to a swift halt after a nasty looking injury to Bristol’s Jenny Herring with the medics swiftly on hand to take care of her.

With play back underway, the Bears dug in deep and held their own to hold on for the win and third place in this season’s Allianz Cup.

𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 🎶

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— Bristol Bears Women 🐻 (@BristolBearsW) April 24, 2022

Worcester Warriors Women: 15. Cat McNaney, 14. Evie England, 13. Carys Cox, 12. Vicky Foxwell, 11. Vicky Laflin, 10. Minori Yamamoto, 9. Jess Kershaw, 1. Abbie Smitheman, 2. El Febrey, 3. Laura Keates ©, 4. Elizabeth Shermer, 5. Amelia Buckland Hurry, 6. Taz Bricknell, 7. Charlotte Wright Haley, 8. Cara Brincat.

Replacements: 16. Carmen Tremelling, 17. Stefania Evans, 18. Florence Long, 19. Lyndsay O’Donnell, 20. Jo Brown, 21.Tori  Sellors, 22. Sarah Nicholas, 23.Megan Varley.

Bristol Bears Women: 15. Ella Lovibond, 14. Kyara Martin, 13. Jo Smith, 12. Phoebe Murray, 11. Lilly Stoeger-Goddard, 10. Lucie Skuse, 9. Lucy Burgess (c); 1. Simi Pam, 2. Hannah West, 3. Ellie Mulhearn, 4. Delaney Burns, 5. Hollie Cunningham, 6. Alice Lockwood, 7. Daisie Mayes, 8. Rownita Marston.

System players: 16. Jess Sprague, 17. Holly Phillips, 18. Robyn Lock, 19. Marlo Boyd, 20. Jenny Herring, 21. Ellie Lewis, 22. Katie Derrick, 23. Lauren Powell

Worcester Warriors Women: Tries – Cara Brincat, El Febrey, Lyndsay O’Donnell. Conversions – Vicky Foxwell (2)

Bristol Bears Women: Tries - Ella Lovibond, Phoebe Murray, Hannah West..Conversions – Lucie Skuse (3)