Gloucester-Hartpury 52 Harlequins 12
Gloucester-Hartpury served up a compelling reminder of why they can land an unprecedented Premiership Women’s Rugby ‘three-peat’ after thundering past Harlequins.
The back-to-back champions, whose place at the top of the league table had already been confirmed before Friday’s final round of the season, dismantled the Londoners with ease with an eight-try victory
It was the perfect hit-out for Sean Lynn’s high-flying outfit ahead of their semi-final against Bristol Bears next weekend, with scores from Mo Hunt and Zoe Alcroft setting the tone in a dominant first half.
The hosts continued to overwhelm Harlequins after the break, crossing the whitewash five times, with replacement lock Steph Else adding to the try-fest in the dying minutes.
Full report to follow
09:44 PM GMT
FULL TIME: Gloucester-Hartpury 52-12 Harlequins
And that’s that. The reigning champions wrap up their regular season with a mesmeric win over their top-four rivals. You wouldn’t think that lop-sided scoreline reflects first v third in the league. Sean Lynn’s side were unstoppable and look very good to defend their PWR crown.
We’ll be back next weekend with live coverage of both PWR semi-finals, so stay tuned. But in the meantime thanks for joining us.
09:38 PM GMT
80 mins: TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Steph Else - 52-12
Ooomph it’s an eighth try for GH! They have been utterly rampant tonight. Once again, they overpower Harlequins with their forward muscle and this time its replacement Steph Else - a graduate from England under-20’s programme who is on for Zoe Aldcroft - who dots down. Sing, who has enjoyed a stellar evening from the tee, adds the extras.
09:32 PM GMT
75 mins: Gloucester-Hartpury 45 - 12 Harlequins
It’s been a routine victory for the reigning champions, who will have enjoyed this hit out before the serious business of a semi-final next weekend against Bristol. Even in these last minutes they’re not content with their night’s work and are busying themselves deep in Quins’ 22. Apart from Parry’s slice through, the visitors have barely been down the other end of the pitch in the second half.
09:27 PM GMT
66 mins: TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Pip Hendy - 45-12
Kildunne knocks on in the contact and Venner scoops it up and without hesitation heads diagonally towards the line. She’s hauled down inches short but by then the damage is done.. Pip Hendy finishes off proceedings to glide over for the hosts’ seventh.
09:23 PM GMT
61 mins: TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Sarah Beckett - 38-12
This is turning into a bit of an ugly affair for Quins, who probably just want to see out the match with a full complement of fit personnel given they have a semi-final to prepare for next week and finish unloading their bench. Mo Hunt sends a peach of a pass onto an onrushing Sarah Beckett for an easy run-in, and the hosts have a sixth.
09:15 PM GMT
55 mins: TRY Harlequins - Sarah Parry - 31-12
Against the run of play, Quins score another! They set up shop with a scrum metres outside GH’s 22 and Tuima puts Sarah Parry clean through - the replacement back cuts a devastating line - and nobody can catch her. Fine move. Tuima adds the extras to make it 31-12.
09:11 PM GMT
53 mins: TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Mia Venner - 31-5
It’s relentless from the hosts and Quins are noticeably tiring already. Millar-Mills knocks on in the tackle and Mo Hunt takes a quick tap-and-go and off GH trot. Aldcroft, Lewis and Matthews take turns in making some yards and although Powell does well to square up Sing on the wing, winning a one-on-one challenge, GH’s offloading game is too crisp. They spread it across to the other side and Lund sets up Venner with a cute offload and the winger coasts in. Sing can’t manage the extras this time.
08:59 PM GMT
45 mins: TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Neve Jones - 26-5
We’re back underway.. Harlequins try to recreate something but they look too lateral in attack. Claudia Pena spills the ball in the tackle and we have a GH scrum near halfway. Hunt pops it out quickly and puts Sing through a sailing gap and the fullback goes on a mazy run.. Several Quins players try to haul her down but have no luck and Sing makes some 40 metres. GH recycle quickly and Quins cough up another pen… they set up their line-out maul and Neve Jones crashes over for her second had her side’s fourth of the night!
08:42 PM GMT
40 mins: TRY Harlequins - Connie Powell - 21-5
Harlequins muster a response on the stroke of half time. GH are penalised for a deliberate knock-on and Lagi Tuima kicks to the corner with the clock in the red - this time there’s no mistake - and win another penalty after GH make a mess of their maul defence. Lucy Packer is onto it quickly and after some fine forward pod sees the visitors make some in-roads and hooker Connie Powell dives over.
08:35 PM GMT
39 mins - TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Neve Jones
Pena delivers a monster try-saving tackle on Sing to force her into touch, but Quins can’t catch a break at the moment. GH come again and tease another penalty out of the visitors and go for the corner. Jones’ arrow is on the money and the Cherry and Whites get their maul chugging along… Quins are all at sea and it’s Jones who emerges from a cluster of bodies over the whitewash! It’s been an utterly dominant performance from Gloucester-Hartpury so far.
08:29 PM GMT
35 mins: Gloucester-Hartpury 14-0 Harlequins
Harlequins enjoy another promising foray into GH’s 22 and Pena heads towards the line after they win a scrum, but she’s isolated metres out. It’s Rachel Lund who comes up with a colossal turnover! NHS physio by day.. turnover queen by night, it seems.
GH clear and have managed to iron out the creases in their lineout. George spots Mia Venner in acres of space and sinks a delightful cross-field kick towards the winger - she takes it clearly - and looks to release Sing inside her shoulder but the fullback is hauled to the ground by Lisa Neumann. Venner should have backed herself to take on Kildunne there.. All the momentum with the reigning champions at the moment.
08:21 PM GMT
24 mins - TRY Gloucester-Hartpury!
The hosts are over again…this time Zoe Aldcroft crashes over after GH punish Harlequins for a bad kick clearance. It’s Ellie Kildunne who uncharacteristically boots it out on the full and the hosts take full advantage of some free field territory. This time Aldcroft manages to grab hold of the ball - it’s far from clean - and the hosts grind down their opponents with a series of beefy carries through the forwards. Bethan Lewis soaks up a couple of hits, with Aldcroft wheeling round on to help out (the Red Roses’ captain is famed for her ridiculous work rate) and fittingly, she powers over as GH sniff the whitewash. Too easy. Sing once again adds the extras.
08:12 PM GMT
TRY Gloucester-Hartpury - Mo Hunt
It was coming.. Hunt, the hosts’ talismanic scrumhalf, is over! There was no way the Red Rose was going to be denied this time. She orchestrates a move off a scrum deep in Quins’ 22 - the visitors are penalised for pushing too early - and Hunt waits for nobody. She intuitively taps and goes, finding Aldcroft who bounces off a few players as she eats up metres. Hunt tracks her and as she goes to ground, scoops up the ball and snipes through for an easy finish. Sing splits the uprights with a perfect conversion.
Mo Hunt opens the scoring!
After a scoreless first quarter, it's the Gloucester-Hartpury co-captain who crosses the whitewash first.
Watch live now on TNT Sports and discovery + ????#PWR #GLOvHAR pic.twitter.com/hChdiD9feI
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 21, 2025
08:09 PM GMT
19 mins: Gloucester-Hartpury 0 - 0 Harlequins
GH win a penalty after the visitors stray offside but it’s a complete waste. Sing finds touch, five metres out, but Harlequins pinch the lineout and Powell hacks it away. GH pour forward again through Sing, who makes some fine metres runs into heavy traffic, before Sarah Beckett tramples though Quins shirts with a thunderous carry into the 22.
The visitors are penalised for not releasing her and GH go for another touch finder.. but make a mess of their lineout again. Mo Hunt is at the back to mop up a stray ball and she somehow manages to tip toe her way through several Quins players and heads under the posts.. but she’s held up! Fantastic work from Claudia Pena and Beth Wilcock, the Harlequins centre and winger respectively tag-teaming to keep the hosts out. Superb defensive effort that.
08:01 PM GMT
12 mins: Gloucester-Hartpury 0 - 0 Harlequins
Lucy Packer hits Emma Sing with a brilliant try-saving tackle just as the GH fullback looks to canter in after some quick-thinking from Mo Hunt. Both Red Roses scrum-halves are on the pitch tonight in Packer and Hunt and you imagine England head coach John Mitchell will be savouring this mini-battle. Meanwhile Zoe Aldcroft is back on, having passed her HIA.
07:55 PM GMT
10 mins: Gloucester-Hartpury 0 - 0 Harlequins
Harlequins have a scrum after GH knock on and Lucy Packer recycles the ball quickly - Wilcock and Kildunne interchange nicely down the right before the visitors work it back infield, with Millar-Mills carrying strongly. Just as they look to assault GH’s line they lose the ball in contact and the hosts clear. Quins coughed up a lot of opportunities close to the whitewash last weekend against Bristol and they’ll have to be more clinical if they want to topple the champions tonight.
07:51 PM GMT
4 mins: Gloucester-Hartpury 0 - 0 Harlequins
GH get the ball back off their restart and look to launch their attack, working the ball out wide to winger Mia Venner, but a loose pass from flyhalf Lleucu George sees them back peddle. Quins get some breathing space. We’re only minutes in but Zoe Aldcroft, the England captain, is already being hauled off for a HIA.
Harlequins gain possession and spin it wide after a fine bit of work in the loose from Kayleigh Powell to the left and Ellie Kildunne, their superstar fullback, gets her first touch on the ball but red and white shirts immediately ambush her.
07:44 PM GMT
Kick off coming up..
A crowd north of 2,000 is expected at Kingsholm tonight for the last round of the @ThePWR season - pretty decent considering it's half-term and a late night KO.
Gloucester-Hartpury v Harlequins, fizzing with international match-ups all over the park ????
Live on @rugbyontnt ???? pic.twitter.com/kPpU93uJdn
— Fi Tomas (@fi_tomas_) February 21, 2025
07:33 PM GMT
Elsewhere across the PWR tonight..
Here’s the other three games taking place across the PWR this evening (all kick-off times at 7.45pm) Bristol Bears have their by-week - and an extra seven days rest - ahead of their semi-final against Gloucester-Hartpury next Sunday.
Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs
Saracens v Sale Sharks
Loughborough Lightning v Trailfinders Women
07:24 PM GMT
Key battle: Emma Sing v Ellie Kildunne
Having scooped World Rugby’s player of the year award in 2024, Kildunne is the most lethal fullback in the women’s game right now and will be a poster girl for the national team at a home World Cup later this year. With head coach John Mitchell’s reluctance to rotate his England back three throughout 2024, Kildunne’s upwards trajectory has pushed Emma Sing out of the international picture. Both were involved in the Red Roses’ wider Six Nations training squad last month but Sing - who unlike Kildunne is not centrally contracted with the RFU - faces a tough task to usurp the Harlequin.
Sing has been one of Gloucester-Hartpury’s most valuable players for the past two seasons but the 23-year-old has had to contend with being in Kildunne’s shadow. While Kildunne is a rangy runner with intrepid footwork, Sing boasts a giant hoof and eye for space. She is also the league’s top points scorer with 126, so this should be a tantalising match-up.
07:18 PM GMT
Knowledge is PWR
If you’re new to the women’s game and have never watched a PWR match before, allow me to bring you up to speed. A brief history - the league has grown rapidly since its launch eight years ago and counts players from the home nations as well as Americans and Canadians among its melting pot of players. Some of these like England’s Red Roses are professional, while others juggle rugby with full-time work and consider themselves dual-career athletes.
Given the quality both teams boast, most players in action tonight have been capped internationally, but to pick an example, Gloucester-Hartpury winger Rachel Lund is an NHS physio who most likely had to do a full day shift before this game. If you find yourself comparing men’s and women’s rugby, remember context is key.
As for the match, Gloucester-Hartpury are targeting a third successive domestic title under outgoing coach Sean Lynn, who will take over the reins at Wales for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations.
07:01 PM GMT
Harlequins team news
Quins have made just one change to the team that lost to Bristol last weekend, with Harriet Millar-Mills coming into the side at No.8 in place of Jade Konkel as Lagi Tuima takes over the captaincy.
Harlequins E Kildunne, B Wilcock, C Pẽna, L Tuima, L Neumann; K Powell, L Packer; S Turani, C Powell, L Hanlon, A Fleming, D Lochner, S Bonar, M Grant, H Millar-Mills.
Replacements: C Phillips, H Sims, L Delgado, T Shirley, M Mueller, F Aucken, E Cromack, S Parry.
06:55 PM GMT
Gloucester-Hartpury team news
Gloucester-Hartpury welcome back Emma Sing at full-back, meaning Mia Venner switches to the wing after her hat-trick against Sale Sharks.
Up front, Zoe Aldcroft is switching to lock from No 8, with Alex Matthews filling that spot, while on the bench, Bianca Blackburn could make her first outing for the club since October.
Gloucester-Hartpury E Sing; M Venner, H Jones, M Hyett, R Lund; L George, N Hunt; 1. R Samuda, N Jones, K Buggy, S Beckett, Z Aldcroft, K Williams, B Lewis, A Matthews.
Replacements: G Boag, E Bradley, L Cockburn, S Else, G Brock, B Blackburn, E Green, P Hendy.
06:46 PM GMT
Hello!
Good evening and welcome to our live Premiership Women’s Rugby coverage of Gloucester-Hartpury v Harlequins at Kingsholm. Tonight’s meeting is one of four taking place tonight across the English women’s top-flight, marking the final round of the regular season.
While all four fixtures will have no bearing on the play-offs, with Gloucester-Hartpury, Harlequins, Saracens and Bristol having already locked in their play-off places, there is the tiniest top-four permutation.
Harlequins, who sit third in the table and two points behind Saracens, will have a stab at securing a home semi-final at The Stoop. To do so they must win and hope their London rivals slip up against bottom-of-the-table Sale Sharks at the Stonex, which is as likely as beleaguered Wales beating Ireland in the men’s Six Nations tomorrow afternoon.
Despite a slow start to the season, Sean Lynn’s Gloucester-Hartpury rediscovered their mojo during the middle of the campaign and sit at the PWR summit with an unassailable 63 points. Lynn will have one eye on his upcoming role as the new Wales women’s head coach while trying to land a third successive domestic title with the Circus and should he achieve the latter, it would be doubly impressive.
After a solid campaign which saw them enjoy a 10-match winning streak, the Quartered shirts have lost two of their last three games. A win over the league leaders and reigning champions - who are bidding to complete a PWR ‘three-peat’ this season - would be massive as they fine tune preparations for their semi-final against Saracens.
Should Harlequins get the better of their London foes in a fortnight’s time there’s every possibility these two teams - both of which are dripping with international talent - could meet each other in the PWR final on March 16.
“Our mindset this season has been all about taking each game as it comes and focusing on our performance and that’s what we will continue to do,” said Ross Chisholm, the Harlequins head coach. “Gloucester are a very good side and this is a really exciting opportunity for us to go there and really test ourselves.”
