A more fitting farewell for Sean Lynn there could not have been. On Monday, the understated Gloucester-Hartpury head coach will start his role as Wales boss in earnest with a Women’s Six Nations around the corner, just reward for a man who has turned this club into the ruling class of Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR).
A 34-19 win over Saracens and the three-peat was complete with another champion performance, Lynn sent off in style with a showing of which he could be proud. Saracens had been this league’s dominant force in its first era but how times have changed, a new dynasty forged. Their tally of three titles has been tied; their record streak of successes surpassed.
A difficult day it may have been for the men’s national team on Six Nations “Super Saturday” but at least one Welshman has established himself as a consistent winner. Lynn has fostered a special spirit and culture at a place they call “The Circus” – a star-studded squad he may have at his disposal but one could not say that he is not getting the best out of them. The challenge he faces over these next few weeks with Wales is a rather different one, but Lynn feels like the right man at the right time for a squad in need of succour.
“We had a deeper level that we wanted to go to today with Lynny leaving,” Gloucester-Hartpury co-captain Zoe Aldcroft said. “There was something deeper we had to fight for today.
“We said at the start of today to put all that emotion aside, we had a job to do. It is so emotional but I am buzzing that we managed to get the third title for him. He’s been unbelievable for us and built that legacy. No team has done that before. I’m super proud that we could do it for him today.”
A good number of those of those on the pitch will assemble in camp in Bagshot as the Red Roses prepare to begin their Women’s Six Nations against Italy on Sunday. For new captain Aldcroft, this was another superlative showing, with Maud Muir another standout established star. A couple of fringe figures in Mia Venner and Emma Sing, the player of the PWR season, gave John Mitchell plenty to consider, too – and the England coach will have been pleased to see no obvious reason to fret on the injury front.
This final is usually a June affair, but the upcoming World Cup in August and September necessitated a shift of the season to conclude the club campaign before the Women’s Six Nations begins. A return to a summer slot would be welcomed by those with chattering teeth on a chilly North London afternoon.
The players nonetheless warmed to their work while those in the stands with extra layers were still strapping them on. A lovely line from wing Venner took an inside ball from Lleucu George into the Saracens 22, and Kate Williams rumbled in for the opening score.
Plenty of Shed heads had travelled up from Gloucester, Saracens’s ground feeling more like a neutral field than one might first have assumed with 7,848 in attendance. The “home” fans nonetheless soon had something to cheer as their side replied in kind, Poppy Cleall’s inside pop sending Jess Breach searing away. Soon after, their maul went to work, drawing a penalty try and a yellow card for Gloucester-Hartpury co-captain Natasha Hunt.
When Lotte Sharp forced her way in to the left corner, it looked like Saracens would run away with it. But the defending champions have not built their dynasty without coming through a tough moment or two. Emma Sing has been the player of the PWR season and soon struck back, but it was her back three colleague Venner stealing the show, filling in admirably at scrum half during Hunt’s period in the sin bin before snaring a score of her own.
Had Saracens not produced a remarkable goal line stand on half time, they would have gone to the interval behind, the prospect of which felt distant when 19-5 ahead. Soon after the resumption, they did trail – Alex Matthews’s try was chalked off with the ball in touch during the build-up but there was no denying Aldcroft and Muir, tight five titans showing their softer touches with a lovely alley-oop assist from the England captain.
Neve Jones then followed a maul home and the three-peat was on, even with Matthews sent to the bin for a tackle that could yet demand a stiffer sanction and leave her initial Six Nations participation in doubt. Hunt marked a typically excellent controlling performance with a sniping score. A few minutes later, she and Aldcroft were imploring Lynn to join them in lifting the trophy – the architects may be about to go their separate ways but what a legacy they have left.
“He’s just made sure we are in this together,” Aldcroft explained of the impact that Lynn, who will hot foot it to Cardiff for a Monday morning meeting, had made. “When we step on that pitch, we fight for each other, we don’t let anyone go it alone. He has been fantastic in bringing us all together and we’ve got good people in good place. That’s what we really pride ourselves on at Gloucester-Hartpury.”
