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Gloucester-Hartpury 34 Chiefs 19
Threat averted; the Chiefs made the most of the let-off to finally position themselves back down field for the first meaningful time in the match. A relentless driving maul gave them decent inroads, before strong carries from Hope Rogers, Nic Fryday and Kate Zackary got them to within sniffing distance of the home line. Sadly, they were unable to capitalise, try-scorer Jones producing a quality try-saving turnover under the shadows of her own posts.
Appleby, though, would have been encouraged by the upturn in performance from her side, who then looked to counter once again, Zackary’s length pass to the left fumbled by MacDonald as she eyed up the space in front of her.
Exeter’s pressure was mounting by the minute and their cause was aided when, just before the half-hour mark, Gloucester No.8 Sarah Beckett was sent to the sidelines for a ten-minute stint following a high shot on Rogers. The No.8 could certainly consider herself lucky, given the numerous TV replays which didn’t look good on review.
That said, it took the Chiefs less than a minute to make their numerical advantage pay dividends, the forwards combining as one to propel Tuttosi over the line for Exeter’s opening try, which was converted by fly-half McGoverne.
Up and running, Appleby would have expected her side to use the score as a springboard from which to advance. However, an error from Fryday at the restart gifted possession and territory back to Gloucester who, after a succession of attacking phases, made the Chiefs pay as Lund squirmed her way over from their second score.
At the other end, the Chiefs were quickly back on the attack and No.8 Rachel Johnson thought she had broken clear from the base of a scrum, only to be called back for a pull back by McMahon on Gloucester’s Alex Matthews.
With playing parity restored just before the interval, it was Beckett – back off the bench – who landed a telling blow, blasting her way over from close range to claim Gloucester’s third try on the stroke of half time.
HALF TIME: GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY 17 EXETER CHIEFS 7
Up against it, the interval came at a good time for Appleby and her assistant, Steve Salvin, who would have used the 15-minute respite as a chance to regroup and revisit the overall game plan.
However, that plan was thrown up in the air within two minutes of the restart as a cross-field kick from George was batted out of play by MacDonald as she looked to cover the danger. Referee Dan Jones adjudged the actions of the Red Roses star were deliberate and banished her to the cooler for a stint, as well as awarding a penalty try.
It was the last thing the Chiefs needed, but their response was good and they came within a whisker of cutting the deficit almost immediately when, from a quickly-taken penalty by Flo Robinson, Rogers was held up on the Gloucester try-line.
A busy afternoon for referee Jones continued when he was forced to issue a third yellow card, this time to Gloucester’s Rachel Lund, for a high tackle on Johnson as she looked to cut through the heart of the home defence.
