Poppy Cleall drives Saracens to win over Exeter to close in on home semi-final

The Guardian

15-02-2025

There are few less pleasant experiences in this sport than playing against Saracens at a wet and windy StoneX Stadium. Exeter Chiefs found out the hard way as they offered plenty of huff and puff but were ultimately shut down by a more ruthless and efficient team. The visitors needed to win this one and their final game against Leicester Tigers to have any hope of qualifying for the semi-finals. Now they'll be spectators when the competition narrows to four.
Saracens will be in the mix. They won ugly here, and were mostly on the defensive, but that's the thing with formidable outfits, they simply get the job done. This 21-12 win takes them to second in the table and puts them in the driving seat to secure a home semi-final with a final fixture against basement dwellers Sale Sharks to come. After their shock reverse to Bristol in the playoffs last season, the most successful club in English women's rugby with three titles will be itching to lift a trophy they have not held since 2022.
They were behind on five minutes when Nancy McGillivray reached out to score, having stepped in from midfield to cut a hole in the line. Saracens, though, kept their patience. Three first-half entries in the red zone resulted in three tries and the game was in effect over at the interval.
First Sophie Bridger scored; a scrum on half-way became a penalty which became a driving maul from a lineout which became five points several phases later. May Campbell notched her 16th try in 14 games thanks to excellent work from Marlie Packer who tore down the blindside and popped a perfect pass off her shoulder. Then, three minutes from the break, Poppy Cleall burrowed over with Zoe Harrison slotting her third conversion for a 21-7 lead. Exeter's job became all the more difficult when Claudia MacDonald was shown a yellow card for illegally slowing down the ball close to her own line.
Saracens should have added another after the restart, initially when Bridger swung her boot at a bouncing ball upfield and found nothing but air, and then again when Cleall's advance, following a cheeky chip and chase in Exeter's 22, was not helped by her backline who made the ball look like a bar of soap when it was flung out wide.
They were not made to pay, at least not immediately. Within the space of 10 minutes Exeter were turned over twice at the breakdown inside Saracens' 22. They were incisive off first-phase strike play, and deserve credit for the intricate patterns they put together, but too often they spilled the ball in contact or found themselves in cul-de-sacs courtesy of a disciplined defensive effort from Sarries.
Exeter would have their try and a glimpse at a comeback on the hour mark. The substitute Sabrina Poulin got caught under a high ball but twisted her body to catch it over her shoulder before exploding into a swift counterattack. She beat one defender, then another and played a simple pass to her left where MacDonald was screaming for the ball. The winger then put on the afterburners to canter over in the corner.
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That seemed to give Saracens the shock they needed. Their substitute forwards kept them in the ascendency and the closing minutes were staged inside Chiefs territory. Harrison is not the most creative 10 in the land, but her ability to control tight games with a reliable boot means she is a player for big games. She will probably have two more to play before she turns her attention to a home World Cup.