Round 1 of the PWR kicked off with a bang on Friday night and things only got better over the course of what was an incredible weekend of rugby. Below are the 3 biggest headlines from last weekend.
Scrores
Harlequins 52 - 42 Loughborough Lightning
Sale Sharks 46 - 17 Leicester Tigers
Trailfinders 12 - 24 Exeter
Gloucester-Hartpury 40-14 Saracens
1. Gloucester-Hartpury still dominant
There has been a lot of noise surrounding new signings for many teams within the PWR. This has led to speculation that this season will be amongst the most competitive ever, which would mean that Gloucester-Hartpury would find themselves under increased pressure from their competition. An opening game against last year's runners-up (Saracens) presented the perfect opportunity for last year's Champions to be pegged back. Instead, they showed their dominance by winning 34-19 in a game that was basically over before half-time. There is still plenty of time for others to dethrone Gloucester-Hartpury, but there is clearly no way that they are going to give up their title without a serious fight.
2. Sharks investment showing early returns
There had been a lot of excitement surrounding the PWR's northern outpost in the run-up to this season. Star signing like Holly Aitchison and Amy Cokayne caught the eyes of many and helped to get a sold out crowd for the opening fixture against the Leicester Tigers. Thankfully, the Sharks lived up to the hype and swept aside the team that finished just one place above them last season.
Holly Aitchison only started on the bench, so her impact will be felt much more as the season goes on. Sale shouldn't be expected to be a genuine contender for a playoff spot, but should be aiming for a mid-table spot that gives them the opportunity to build for the future. They will obviously face tougher tests as the season progresses, but there are enough positives in order to give Sale some serious confidence going into the next few weeks.
3. Points galore in round 1
There were 247 points scored across the 4 fixtures in the first round of the PWR. That averages out to just over 61 points per game in a weekend that was dominated by attacking rugby. Much of the heavy lifting was done in the opening game on Friday night when Harlequins beat Loughborough 52-42 in a game that was incredibly topsy turvy. Ideally, defences will improve as the year goes on, but this type of rugby could be the way to attract many of the more casual fans that were enticed by the World Cup.
Add comment
Comments