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The Power Pod (00:12.494) Home straight in the PWR and Round 14 saw some of the league's high-flying teams just about to vibe some upsets by the skin of their teeth. We saw Queen's extend their winning streak to 10 matches. Leicester Tigers show a good account of themselves and a valiant, well, another valiant, Loughborough Lightning performance. The back-to-back champions, Gloucester, Hartbury, just about held onto a nail-biter at King's home to keep them top of the table.

And is that a circus that might now be even more galvanized and focused to deliver the three Pete with huge news coming out of Cardiff this week? That is a potentially very happy Welshwoman, Philippa Tutsiet. I'm Nick Heath and this is The Powerpond.

well there we go. Are you a happy Welsh rugby fan this week, Philippa Tuttie? What about the news we've had? In fact, actually before, before we get your reaction, hold your horses because let's play in this little 80 second video that the Welsh Rugby Union were very pleased to put out on Monday afternoon with their new acquisition, Wales head coach, Sean Lynn.

The Power Pod (01:28.13) Being brought up in Wales in Swansea to coach our home national team is an honour and a privilege. Where we can take Wales in this next chapter is really, really exciting with a special, talented group of players and staff, which I'm getting really excited about. We're one family.

and we will care for each other and we will work hard and we'll have that passion about how we want to be moving forward so that one family is really big for us but the key part will be we will challenge and learn in this environment. The next six months is very exciting, the first home game, Six Nations at the Principality Stadium against England and then we go into the Home World Cup.

I think if we're looking at inspiring the next generation, then there's no other bigger fixture. Playing at the Principality Stadium against number one ranked world team. And I just encourage as many people to come and watch. It will be a spectacle.

Right then Phil, how are you feeling? Oh mate, this is the best news from Welsh rugby. There has been in a long time. Oh, I'm so pleased. You know what? I actually saw Sean Lynn at the weekend because I was working their game, but I was literally dashing up to commentary. He was dashing to the coaches' box. said, Sean, I was like, am I going to see more of you in Wales come this Six Nations? And he just sort of laughed at me and went, hi Phil, see you later. I was, oh. So I literally, shouted down the corridor. I said, that's still not a no.

Right, I love that. But yeah, I'm just buzzing. I'm gonna just share with you a little message I sent him because you may remember, do you remember, it was a week or two ago and I said I'd spoken to him and I'd sort of asked him if he was on the job and he was like, well, you know, no, I've not heard from the Welsh. And I thought, it sounds like a Sean Lim who, you know, I have a good enough relationship with, who probably sounded a bit uncomfortable about lying.

The Power Pod (03:37.294) so I sent him a message and I said, I said, look, I told Philippa 10 days ago that when I'd asked you one to one, if you'd spoken to us and you said, no, said, I think that was Sean Lynn. That was a bit uncomfortable lying to me. He replied very uncomfortable, which I thought was lovely. And he went on just to say, you know, simple, simple three words. I'm so excited and it's huge. it? Isn't it great? And you know, we've been around for, through, through these different.

eras of Welsh head coaches, know, Johan Cunningham was, you know, thought and hoped he was building something. I think he'd lost the changing room by the time it really mattered. I remember going back to the days of Roland Phillips and question marks over the sort of nepotistic inclusion of his daughter in the team and all this kind of stuff. And there being factions of players that were a bit toxic, but they were sort of not being dealt with all this.

We are now at the point where the players can look at a head coach who they know has been there and done it, can bring different people and different personalities together with one aim. that's all it needs to be about, right? Yeah. And I'm sure those players are going to feel excited, but I hope some of them are feeling the pressure because now...

You've kind of ticked every box. Now, granted, we never fully know what's going on behind the scenes. And obviously that everything came out last year about the contracts was really sad. And hopefully, hopefully WIU are going to learn from that. And obviously with the appointment of Belinda Moore now actually in charge of the women and girls program, she'll have her influence. So we've got good coaching. Hopefully we're going to have good governance. They've got the environment. They're professional. What can you do with that girls? And I mean, look, Sean Lynn's history, you know, his first job at Harbury college.

he goes back to back championships three times in a row. He's now with Gloucester-Harpry and what's happening? They're chasing their third championship title in a row. So obviously I've got to be realistic as a Welsh fan. So I'm thinking, you know, we're now going to go for two consecutive Six Nations championships. That's, that's being realistic, Right, right. Okay. We're there already, are we? I see. Why not? Why not?

The Power Pod (05:45.378) I love it. Dreaming already. But it is big and people talk about how difficult it is to go back to back on a title of anything. By the way, if there's a little more echo on your podcast this week, I have shifted rooms into my slightly cavernous

high ceiling lounge. yeah, that makes it sound like I'm now boasting about my property. That wasn't the intention anyway. so, I'm trying to stay nice and close to the mic. So there's not as much echo. Caleb, our wonderful producer will be doing his best to make it not sound as echo-y. Anyway, I digress. yeah, the, the fact that it can be so difficult to go back to back and Gloucester-Harprey had that little wobble through November. They've come through it. It wasn't a crisis, even though some of the players felt it was. And

they are looking good again, but you do hear about how difficult it is to go to the well a third time and to find the motivation because those chasing you down are normally so much more motivated. And this to me is just the one percenter they didn't have this season. Now I'm not saying they weren't going to be good enough to go and do it anyway, but it's got to be a worrying thing for the likes of Harlequins, you know, who've been been right up there, the likes of Saracens and Exeter and Bristol.

It's right. They've now got something to play for. They now want to send Sean Lin off with that final title, that three Pete and absolutely have a party for their man who, who a week later is, is really going to be under the feet under the desk, in the wealth shop. So yeah, I, I fear for the rest of the PWR now because, because the circus have got an extra reason to perform. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Shall we look back at some of those nail biters from last round? Yes. Let's get on with it then.

Okay. So the round of 14 review kicked off on Saturday with Bristol Bears 43, Leicester Tigers 29. High scoring one this one. So last weekend's first game was Ashton Gate where Simi Pan was back clocking up the meters off Gabriella Nigarelli's break from halfway with Kira Bevan being that link player. Holly Phillips. Gosh, didn't she take her opportunity? She bagged four tries and a player of the match award.

The Power Pod (07:55.918) and you just can't keep Millie David out of the match. Who's got the fourth try and the bonus as Bears scored seven tries in all. For Leicester, Emily Henrich was at the end of Meg Jones's pass to score. gained two with a total of five tries for the Tigers. Over 70 points all in. But there was a difference in quality between the two teams and that did show.

Yeah, it did. I loved Meg Jones' second, combining with Henrich, just sometimes a simple give and loop around is all it needs. Classic Meg Jones, ball in two hand, keeping the defenders guessing left and right. It came off the back of some really crisp full length passing, sort of 15, 18 meter passes to just get that bears defense, chasing hard, keeping deep. I liked what I saw from the tie because, well,

While Bristol Bears are looking up the table, certainly they're not shy defensively of letting a few in and fair play to Tigers. They took full opportunity in getting 29 points on the board. Which is really impressive when you consider the possession as heritory that they had, which was literally nil. It was like 30%. That's really, really low. So, know, credit for them for actually really troubling Bristol Bears at times. But I think Bears just showed that, you know, strong carries, strong scrum, sometimes the basics.

are enough to get you that go forward and to get you that dominance in the game. But I think looking ahead, Dave Ward will be a little concerned about conceding 29 points. That's big. Yeah. When it comes to cup final rugby, which Bears will hope to be in obviously, then yeah, that will need to tighten up. All right. The second game of the weekend was two o'clock sale, Sharks against Queens. finished sale 10, Harlequins 43 at Hayward Road. Both teams coming into this one after the break.

Quinn's was a bye weekend, which was more expected, but, sales game against Trail Finders, course, fell foul of the weather. Quinn's opening the scoring, killed, done scoring, try number six of her season, fittingly in the sixth minute, but sale hitting back quickly with a tap and a snipe from Sophia Stephane, getting a little bit sharper as the women's Six Nations hones into view. it was just 10, 12 at halftime. There've been, there were a few scorelines for sale sharks over this season where at halftime it's, it's all, it's all been in the balance.

The Power Pod (10:11.886) but second half Quinn scored 31 unanswered points, including an Ellie killed down hat trick along with a couple of assists by her as well. It does just seem that sales sharks can stay in it for so long, but then those floodgates tend to open against them. Yeah, they did. The biggest stat for me from this game was the meters made, right? And it, because they were so close in regards to the amount of carries, it really then exasperated.

how much of a difference the meters made was. So for sale, they carried 139 times. Okay. Harlequins carried 150. So that's only 11 touches is the difference. Yeah. For sales 139, they got 355 meters for Queens 150. They got 642 meters. Okay. Now, exactly. Now what that tells you, just enjoyed making that noise.

See, if only they could have like an interactive stats pack, whereas, you know, if you read it, you could press a button and then you get a bit of depth to the stats. But look, what that tells you is they've got sale going backwards, right? That's which means the defense are going backwards. They're constantly Quinn's gaining meters. So needless to say that led to a lot of offloads and a lot of line breaks.

Most of them did come in the second half. So like you say, know, credit to sale. can stay in it. You know, that shows you've got the skills to match up, but you need at some point to either kick on or you need to have that strength and depth that those sub players that are coming on are keeping up that energy and you know, pushing the team forward. So it's tough old season for sale. but Harlequins, some of those tries they did score in that second half. so good. The multiple touches.

You know, it's almost like, do you remember when you used to play like hot potato in touch rugby or rugby, know, you literally, can't keep hold of the ball, it's hot potato, you've got to let it go. And it was as if at times they'd score and they wouldn't, they were told they can only hold onto the ball for two seconds. You've got to pass it, you know? Cause it was just that bang, bang, bang. was really good. was, you know, it was exciting rugby to watch and Ellie Kildon, what a game for her. I mean, how many different ways did she show that she can score?

The Power Pod (12:26.178) You know, even doing just towards the end, just literally, I think she just got one pass out from the ruck and just dived over as if she was a back row, you know? So yeah, awesome for England. Fans coming to the Six Nations. Ellie Kildare has not let that World Player Award go to her head. Or if she has, it's kicked her on, you know? Well, and she's, you know, she's,

Talked quite a lot, hasn't she, about how she wants to be the best player in the world, not just the best women's player, and how she wants to just keep improving, finding different ways to play the game. And I think we're seeing that. And it's so nice for a player to have been so candid about those ambitions. And for us then to witness it all happening. So I've got a lot of time for that. A lot of nice touches as well by Claudia Peña. She's played 11 this week. She spent time at 13 and 15 for Queen's this season.

I'm just continuing to like what I see from her, versatile young player, second on the offload list actually with 14 over the course of the season. Millie David is the one who is top with 17. And a word on Izzy Mayhew, back in the 23 jersey and good to see her coming on and getting a try as well. Yeah, sail sharks, signs of physicality as well, not for the full 80 as we mentioned.

And yeah, as you say, last season conjured up victories against Queens and Bristol. There's no Six Nations break for them to regroup. They've got Exeter away, Gloucester at home, Saracens away. This could be a win this season. And yeah, it's going to be a tough one. They want that win. They need those victories, partly as well, I guess, for Rachel Taylor and Co. to be able to hang their hat on it and say, look to players who might come next year and, you know, they're going to try and attract them up to Salford and Manchester.

It helps if they can get a win on the board. So we certainly wish the best to sail for the rest of the season. Yeah, certainly. Okay. Saturday's third game was Gloucester, Hartbury 33, Trail Finders 31. my gosh. What a game. You know, you're supposed to be, you know, relatively composed in the commentary box and eyes on the, I, I'm not joking. I was jumping around sometimes. Poor Claire Thomas, who I was commentating with. amount of time I was like,

The Power Pod (14:34.306) bashing her and jumping and it was just such a great game. Excellent. What a scare it was for the circus. They were trailing with 20 minutes to go. Olivia Leveman put Trail Finders in front with a bonus point score in the 54th minute when Gloucester kicked on again. But the visitors were still hanging in there after Liz Musgrove scored to make it a two point game after 74 minutes. Ealing could have won it. Chloe Rowley's intercept at the

dying minutes of the game really got the crowd on their feet. But look, Gloucester-Harpry just about clung on to the victory by two points. So that is five wins in a row for the champions. Yes, and they were two pretty soft scores as well, led in by Trail Finders to start with, I thought. Mohunt charged down, credit, you you've got to be there to do it. But that should be avoidable.

I thought the Mackenzie Carson try was a little bit of an embarrassing bit of marking under the post. was, you know, yes, they were all honeypotting around the ruck looking at the threats of the pick and go, but you know, she was absolutely unmarked, able to stroll in. yeah, those things are key. Trail finders missing that Emma Taylor boot. As producer Caleb said, you don't lose games because of kickers, but they can win you games. Two missed conversions, which ultimately mattered in the end. And what a result that could have been.

Yeah, that was literally that close, wasn't it? mean, trail missed two, Hartbury missed one. So, you know, if you, if, but maybe everyone got their kick, the result would stay the same. But, and like you say, those two tries that they did conceive from the Mohun charge down and that short carry, you know, when they come to review that game, they will see that as one loss. And you could see, you know, the cameras were panning down on full time Lisa Thompson's face. Just got it. Cause literally they finished the game.

a metre away from the trial line, Costa Harbors trial line. We actually interviewed Zoe Orcroft after the game. The first thing she said, was like, I'm frazzled. Literally she was shattered. Well, it went to 82 minutes, didn't it? was a brilliant game. What a game to have live on TNT. Just fantastic exhibition. Applaud both teams for a.

The Power Pod (16:48.558) brilliant competitive game of rugby. Yeah, Zoe Elcroft, she was tired. She got, made 28 tackles, which was, well, yeah. And, those top three tackles from this, tacklers from this round were Gloucester Harpby, Georgia Brock in second with 26, Steph Els in third with 22. Also a couple of other stats from the game. Emma Singh, third for post-contact meters. She's third across the season, actually 230. That is, I think, insane.

for a full back. Singh, Lisa Neumann and Grace White are the backs among the forwards for those post-contact meters. Amazingly, Nicole Wythe is still in the top 10 and she's been injured for a month. that shows you what sort of season Nicole Wythe was having. Jade Conkle is the top of that stat with 296. Renita Marston-Mull-Hern.

second with 2-9-2. Also Emma Singh is the top-point scorer with 120. She's beaten the most defenders so far this season with 77. That is a fair few more than the person second, who is Alev Kelter with 59. So a few little nuggets for you there from the PWR stat pack. All right, the last weekend of the game then. Sunday's game at three o'clock was Loughborough Lightning against Exeter Chiefs. It finished Lightning 15, Chiefs 19.

Both teams enjoying moments of attack early on, it was 2024 World Player of the Year nominee Alex Tessier who drew first blood for the Devonians. The Midlanders responding with an Aliv Kelter score, her sixth try in eight matches. Honorable mention of course for Emily Scarratt's 50th appearance in the Africa Violet Pinpoint Crossfield Kick that Kelter gathered and passed on to Chrissie Scherfield that put Lightning ahead. Taylor Perry then saw red.

for the Chiefs before McKayla Nelson scored at the back of the Mall and then Scarratt landing a penalty to see Loughborough Lightning in front until the 85th minute when a 13-player Mall from the Chiefs resulted in Emily Titozi breaking those Lightning hearts, spoiling the Scarratt's party and keeping the Chiefs in that top four race. wow. This game. This game. just brilliant. We talked in the way about Loughborough Lightning and

The Power Pod (18:58.542) when they had that good performance, could they kick on, could they keep going? And I see this one as a kick on. This was an arm wrestle. They kicked a lot more, which I actually thought was good. They relieved quite a bit of pressure, showed a good variety of kicks with Emily Scarrett having a few. And great to see Helena Rollen back, back from injury, signing a five half. guess Nelson may be having a rest because she's been playing quite a lot of rugby, isn't she? Really good game, but I think the very subtle difference was Exeter's attack.

they got more offloads in, they got more line breaks in and ultimately towards the end, as you say, that sort of proved the difference. But I was frustrated for Loughborough Lightning when they'd just gone ahead on the points 60th minute and then Exeter get that red card and you're like, right, now everybody roll up your sleeves, grind it out, get something. But it was actually Exeter that scored. And then yes, they came back with that penalty, but then Exeter again, scored again. that was the moment, you that was the point where you just,

I think they'll review that and go, what could we have, what should we have done in this moment to win that, to win that game? Yeah. And it says a lot about the last round that so much of your reaction and our shared reaction to each game was like, what a game. what a game. And I'm just going to jump ahead actually to the table because now we've sort of reviewed last weekend. It's just worth touching on, know, Gloucester-Harprey are top with 53 points. Three points behind them are Harlequins. They've won the same amount of games, but they have one in hand.

Exeter Chiefs are then in third with 43 points, tied on points with Saracens. And then Bristol Bears are two points behind on 41. It is a tight old top four race. yeah, what a run in we've got for Premiership Women's Rugby this season. So it could go in any number of ways. Teams not guaranteed any form of home semi-final, this kind of stuff. But we are certainly starting to see those teams that are

that are taking shape for those top four places. yeah, who they will actually be is still a bit of an unknown. And that's a lovely place to be at this point, going into the final few rounds of the season. Speaking of which, shall we look at our round 15 preview then? A round that sees all matches.

The Power Pod (21:13.0) live on a screen near you. that's good news. Bristol Bears travel to the capital in what could be a Dicey encounter with Trailfinders at 12 o'clock in West London. That one is live on the Trailfinders YouTube channel. There's a promising Midlands Derby as Leicester Tigers host their neighbors, Loughborough Lightning. That's 12.45. You can catch that one live on TNT Sports. At three o'clock at the Stoop, it's another Derby. An all London affair as Saracens and Harlequins meet.

And the only Sunday fixture sees, well, the biggest journey in the league as Sail Sharks leave Greater Manchester for Devon as they visit Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. That one is live on the Exeter YouTube Circus. They get a weekend off after that grandstand finish at King's Home. Blimey. There we go. OK, so it all keeps us off on Saturday. 12pm Trail Finders, currently seventh, playing Bristol Bears, currently fifth.

This could be tasty. This is a high flying Bristol team on a top full hunt and cannot afford to drop a point against Trail Finders team that is showing they can mix it with the top dogs. So what could go wrong? So with love for lightning and Queen's to come, the bears cannot afford to slip up. As for the Londoners, they'll feel they deserve some award for their efforts in the past couple of weeks.

And as you mentioned, this one is going to be live on TrailFinder's YouTube page. Yes, it does. I mean, I'm not going to call it banana skin because that would be disrespectful for TrailFinder. Controversial comment. God, I've just realized they're going to put that. No, I've said a nice thing actually. think. Don't give them the opportunity. But, know, off the back of that incredible performance and let's not forget.

Bristol letting in a fair amount of points from Leicester Tigers. Bristol are going to have to keep the back door closed here because Trail Finders are going to help themselves. They love playing at Valis Way. And yeah, this is going to be tasty. You're absolutely right. Lisa Thompson, I love the fact that Mo Hunt gave her a shout out in the post-match and said, you know, Tommo played it, had a brilliant game. I like that respect from one team to another.

The Power Pod (23:30.478) Thompson and Tyson Bukabum made the joint most carries last weekend, 19 apiece, that's across the round. Chloe Rowley beating nine defenders, that was another top stat for round 14. She also averaged 12 meters per carry, which was third on the log. Trail Finders also won the most turnovers in round 14. Vicky Laughlin, Tyson Bukabum winning two each. And obviously for Bristol, Holly Phillips, the only player scoring four tries last weekend. She's the second front row of this season to score as many in a match.

and the Bears, well, set piece is going to be important, isn't it? And, and they had a hundred percent line out success rate last week as well. Phillips making 11 successful throws. They've actually got the best line out success rates so far this season. So, that will give them heart. and also discipline wise, the Bears conceding the fewest penalties, this season, which is good as well. So yeah, I think it's all eyes on Valleys way, because this is, we talked about actually, you know, a couple of weeks ago.

how Loughborough Lightning might affect that top five. Well, Trail Finders have certainly bought a ticket to that particular party because they have the capacity to stop teams getting what they want out of games and Bristol Bears need to go into this one focused and clinical. Yeah, very true. I really was impressed with Trail Finders last week. Really impressed. Defence, they shored up their front row, especially Rory Woods.

She is such an impact player. Some brilliant, mean, when she carries, it's like having a number eight on the field. You know, to be honest, was almost, I was a bit gutted when I saw the front row being changed for trail finders. I get it. It's a hard game. It was on the 60 minute mark, but I just, I don't know. I was watching Rory Wood and the amount she was putting herself in the, around the field, she looked like she could have gone a little bit more. And Abby Burton.

Oh my gosh, how good was she carrying everywhere? And then you've just got the energizer bunny, Kate Zachary, just going wing to wing to carry to Jackal to just do everything. Like they're really coming together. It's almost as if at the start of season, we saw this attack, we? Scoring from everywhere, brilliant. But the defense wasn't good. And then they've recruited one player here and they've recruited another player here and they've worked out their combinations. You could just see them building. Now, obviously, you know, they are out of the, you know, the title race, but...

The Power Pod (25:46.776) Gosh, if they could finish on a real high, look out for them next season. Yes, totally. And you mentioned Abbie Burton, you know, probably feeling a little bit more confident having been included in that England Red Roses squad as well towards the Six Nations. So, so form being rewarded. A little tip of the hat as well, by the way, to Simi Pam from that game for Bristol Bears, saving lives during the week, running in 30-metre tries on the weekend. Love that, indeed.

powered differently. Okay, the next game then to look at Saturday, it's 12.45 that Midlands Derby, Leicester Tigers in eighth against Loughborough Lightning in sixth, Mattioli Woods, Welford Road. This is live on TNT Sports. No better timing for this one, the form that we're seeing from these sides, Emily Scarratt and Meg Jones colliding in the 13 channel, Julia Ramacuole against Saadia Cabella. Lightning have been on this upward curve, that win against Saracens, the performance against Exeter last weekend.

and Tiger showing they have the ability to bounce back, not rolling over for Bristol. And the stats proved it. Check these ones out. Leicester Tigers made the most dominant tackles in round 14 with 12. Talia Brodie made three of those, which was at joint top. They also had the best 22 meter efficiency in round 14. So every time they went in there, they were they were doing the business. They won a penalty or score to try 64 % of their entries.

so, averaging 2.64 points of visit. That is good. and, and then as for Loughborough Lightning, Emily Scarratt made the most kicks in play. You did talk about them kicking a little bit more ball around 14. Philippa, three contestable, two retained. I've got an extra stat pack this week. I'm, I'm just, going, I'm going all in. You might've noticed. and, and Daisy Hibbert-Jones making the most tackles, second most carries for Loughborough Lightning so far this season. She's played more minutes than anybody else. yeah.

head to head to enjoy out of this one are just brimming over. Yeah. Unbelievable. And can we just give a moment for Tigers as well. Conceding a hundred points to Saris last round. Now, granted there's been changes in their team, but what a way to come back, you know, to face Bristol Bears, to just bring it at them. just that's credit to the leadership they've got in that team. That's credit to the coaching staff to be able to weather that and then come back in and, you know, to right some wrongs.

The Power Pod (28:05.87) I think that's just brilliant. And if they can capitalize on that and go again, because this one, look, you, you're going to favor Loughborough Lightning in this, but I just, I, it's got the, don't want to say Bonata Skin, but this is, this is a real opportunity for Tigers. And like you say, all those head to heads across the field, just brilliant. like Emily Scarrett and Meg Jones for me, can you think of two, like more world-class centers, but that are so different in the way they play? Like I just, you know what I mean? I love that. when, you know, if anyone's ever thinking like,

Rugby is just, you everyone plays the same way. No, watch these two centers. Okay, they're both 13. They're both going to take everything you want from a 13, but they're going to do it in completely different ways. And who is going to come off top? I just don't know. Yeah. And the respect they have for each other as well, which will no doubt be great to see. And hey, Meg Jones, she's not shy of a TV screen. Remember big game. She was certainly performing.

Well, when she was on that stage, and I would just also like to give a shout. We obviously are doing our joint pod with Good Scars Rugby for the final, which we're really excited about. Tickets are on sale now. I will make sure that the ticket link is in our Instagram bio. But I had to plan when I was going to sit down and watch the recent episode where Meg Jones talks about the loss of her parents and that side of things. And it was a stunning episode.

I cannot praise Meg Jones enough for how well she's talking about this, talking about her late mom's addiction issues, all these kinds of things. I thought Elmer held the floor brilliantly. I just have to give praise for our friends over there. It's, you know, we're all doing slightly different things in this podcast world. If you want, you know, really sensitive conversation and supported conversation, which ultimately just feels like a few good friends giving each other the space to be.

then I think they do that so well. So a big shout out to Shira and everybody over at Goods Cas Rugby because I think it's some of the best content out there at the minute. And if you haven't sat with a cup of tea and watched that Meg Jones episode, yes, there are some tough moments, but it's all handled so sensitively and so warmly that actually by the end of it, I kind of went away going, know, feeling quite cozy and wishing Meg Jones all the best. Anyway, I just wanted to give a little shout out for that because I thought it was...

The Power Pod (30:23.628) was absolutely super. So yes, that is Leicester Tigers hosting Loughborough Lightning, that Midlands Derby on Saturday. Right, third game of the weekend. That's going to be Harlequins taking on Saracens. So this one is going to be live on the Harlequins YouTube page. Saracens are in fourth and they've won three of their last five, but Harlequins in second have won 10 of their last 10. Is the balance of power in London shifting from north to west?

Don't ask Alex, it starts to bleed that question. Whatever you do. Saris lost to Queen's in round seven, back in November. It was a tight one, 15-14. It was genuinely agonizingly close. Saris' next games are Ealing Trail Finders away, Exeter home, and then he finished with Sale at home. So there's no easy road for them to secure that top four spot, or let alone a home semi-final. Queen's just want to continue that winning streak and improve their home record against

top teams this season. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, another really, really good one, isn't it? Ellie Kildarn made seven clean breaks around 14 more than any other player. Harlequins missing the joint fewest tackles, which tells you about their efforts defensively. And they were the only team to lose zero rucks in round 14. They also had the quickest average ruck speed. So

They are playing with that Quinn's DNA that is prevalent in the men's team. It's coming right through the women's team with Ross Chisholm at the helm as head coach. As for Saracens, they've averaged the second most 22 meter entries and the most successful entries per game over the course of the season. And they've got the best game line success rate. So getting over that game line, mean, when you've got carriers like Marley Packer, like May Campbell.

and Poppy Cleo, well that's gonna happen. They've also averaged the most offloads per game and the second most meters per carry. So those are a few of the stats. It's just another humdinger. I mean, this could be a preview to a semi-final depending on how that top four works out. So we are, given that we're only, you know, well, a month or so away from those semi-finals.

The Power Pod (32:39.2) psychologically, these are big games now because you want to show to your opposition, well, if we meet you again, when it comes to knockout rugby, we're going to show you, we've got what it takes. So, yeah, the, the end of the season starts here. This is, this is so hard to call. mean, what, what do you think, which teams coming in, do you think with the most momentum? Cause you know, we've just done about their wind right there, but

No, Saris are coming off the back of a hundred niller, like a huge performance. And then they've had a bi-week, so they've rested, they've freshened up, they kick back. Or like you say, you've got Harlequins that have come off the back of winning their last 10. Like. I think, I think Harlequins will, you know, they will be growing with that sense of feeling bulletproof. think, you know, whatever we do, however it goes, we find a way to win. Certainly that November game where they won by a single point at, at the stone ex.

so that will give them confidence, but you know, this, Saracens side, are dogged and they love it when they're, when they're counted out. They really do. and I wouldn't bet against them saying, right, you might've come to our place and taken a win, but we're going to come to yours. We're going to stop this 10-much winning streak and we're going to remind everybody that, that we're a top two team. So, yeah, I absolutely can't call it either. I will be doing my best to be tuned in, to that game myself.

Okay, the last game of the weekend and Sunday, the 25th of January, it will be. It's midday, Exeter Chiefs against South Sharks, third against ninth at Sandy Park. Exeter Chiefs, could you say they're a little low on confidence? Is that a possibility in 2025? I mean, they certainly got the win last week, didn't they? But a loss to Bristol followed by that escape in Northampton last weekend and now up against, well, the South Sharks side who, you know, arguably are going to be desperate away from home to

to look for that first victory of the season. All the action will be on the Exeter Chiefs YouTube page. It's all set up for Exeter Chiefs to kick on, remain in that top four, but yeah, it's time for sales sharks to see if they can spoil something and put in an 80 minute performance that might just scare aside that at times might wonder if they are gonna get the big prize this season. I think being back in Sandy Park as well is big for them.

The Power Pod (35:00.386) You know, they're going to be very disappointed about the last home outing. So to welcome a team like Sail Sharks, I think that they are going to be absolutely gunning for this game. Wanted to prove a point to the wider audience, but also to their home crowd, you know, to show them what they're made of. Defensive wise against Loughborough, they were very impressive. They had the highest proportion of dominant tackles. Dorothy Wall, she's so good. Three dominant tackles, joint first. She only missed one.

tackle all game, like that acts as your chief's defense, you that individual ownership on making your hits. And like you said, you know, with sales sharks, that physicality is definitely getting there. They just need to keep it for the whole 80, but, look, nod to DeTesia Harper more, and look, nod to DeTesia Harper made more dominant carries than any other player in round 14. That's big. She had a total of eight. She also made the most.

post-contact meters, they need more of that, but it can't just be on her. You know, we need all those players to be standing up because it's going to be, it's going to be a tough game against the Chiefs. And I see Chiefs being quite, quite ruthless in this one. Yes. Yeah. And Liv McGovern, didn't play the last game, but she is top on the most kick meters, most 50-22s as well. So, no, well it's only because Claky George being injured, let's be honest, Gloucester Harp is Claky George.

It's also, think that stat is only sort of two compared to everyone else having one. I think that's the nature of that one. It's something like that anyway. But hey, the power of a stat, perhaps, let's get these things in. So yeah, that is the game taking place down at Sandy Park. Good luck to sale sharks down there and also to Exit Chiefs who we really want to be all firing.

by the time we get to the knockout stages of this competition because Chiefs are in third in the table. Just a reminder of that as we come back to the table. And it is Sail Sharks in ninth who have yet to get the win. Tigers are one place above them in eighth on 12 points. Trail Finders on 22, two points behind Loughborough who are on 24. And then yes, we talked about those top five. Gloucester, Harpory, Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Saris and Bristol.

The Power Pod (37:10.734) There are 12 points between them all. Okay, the power line. Do keep in touch with us. How do you think the run-in is going to go for your team? 07880716219. We would love to get your reactions off the back of the games that are coming up this weekend.

Prepare to be our reporter in the field at the 80 minute mark. Grab your phone, get on, give us a voice note, give us your digest of what's just happened and hopefully we can include you in next week's Power Pod. I also have a confession, Philippa Tuttiet. I didn't chase up Tess Fury's one question that we had from Katana Howard. So we don't have that this week. It's not anybody else's fault. It's just mine.

terribly busy. I've been doing some hanging around with men's rugby. I'm terribly sorry. I went to the Men's Six Nations launch in Rome and I, yes, I'm terribly sorry. I did see that casual little trip to Rome. You sneaky dog. You didn't even tell me. I know. Sorry about that. I had some excellent carbonara, but yes. So we will get Test Fury's one question for you all next week because I know you're all dying to hear it.

Okay. Any other business? Well, we've got the news of next season, haven't we? So we've already got the dates to get them in your diary. So we have found out that the PWR Cup is going to kick off in mid-August. Then we've got the Cup final will be the 11th, 12th of October with the PWR season starting on the 25th of October. So all trying to make sure there's still some rugby whilst the World Cup is going on, but then giving a bit of time to those World Cup players.

to have a bit of a breather before hopefully they're all going to get straight back into the PWR standard season. And then if you have already bought your calendar for next year on your app store, then put this one in because we've got the semi-finals on the 13th, 14th of June, 2026, and then the final 27th, 28th, where we'll see... Oh, excellent. Good. I thought we were going to get some crazy, crazy predictions for 18 months time who's going to be in the final.

The Power Pod (39:21.856) It's going to be a fall time between Ealing Trail Finders and Sail Sharks. wouldn't it be lovely to have two new teams in the final? Yes. So great to have those dates. 25th of October then put it in your calendar. News from PWR this very week. Yes. So that PWR season start a big one, the 25th of October, four weeks after that Rugby World Cup final. So everyone can look forward to that.

That'll be enough time for the Welsh girls to have rested, I think, you for weeks. I'm happy with that. That's okay. Excellent. We are expecting the Sean Lin effect to really take hold soon, aren't we? It will be interesting though, won't it? I mean, there are no excuses now for the Welsh girls. So how will they cope with that pressure? Anyway, we're back on that conversation. And well, we trailed it last week and hopefully you have caught up with it across the socials. We have shared the collaboration post on our Instagram.

We are doing the live pod, the collab pod with our friends at Good Scouts Rugby at the final, the PWR final. yes, join us, join them. We're going to be on the live show. It's myself, it's Philippa Tatiut with us. We're going to be with Elmer Smith, Katie Della-McLean and Meg Jones. And it should be fun, shouldn't it? I'm really looking forward to this. I mean, what an occasion to have everyone getting together.

two slightly different podcasts going on together. But hey, let's see what's going to happen. It's going to be fun no matter what. Yeah, they'll bring all the fun and the madness and we'll bring some highbrow analysis. We'll do our very best to keep it fun, won't we? But yes, so there we are. And of course, it's the day after Super Saturday in the Men's Six Nations. So if you are drinking in all of the conclusion of that, well,

Well, the hangovers are welcome. We can get through it together. Will we be watching Mo Hunt's circus making the cut? Will it be a home final for Saracens? Will Elona Mar be there in her Bears kit? Will Queens have another big game on their hands? There we are. This is all.

The Power Pod (41:31.02) Very, very nice leading up to that final at the Stonix. So yes, get your tickets for the live pod. They are flying out the door. I'm very, very pleased to say. So that will be something to really look forward to. All right then, before we go, Philippa, what is PT's power play for this week, please? Okay, so I'm looking at the Loughborough Lightning Exeter game. Now I know Exeter won, but...

My power play is actually going to be going to Loughborough Lightning for the guts, the determination, the team play that they showed in that game. And on the 65th minute, it was tied, 7-7. And Emily Scarrett steps up. They're in the 22. She gets the ball. She calmly looks up and thinks, oh, there's a bit of space out wide. No penalty advantage by the way, but she takes.

the cross field kick. And I say no penalty advantage because we hardly ever see people gambling with that kick because it is a gamble unless they know they're going to get that ball back via a penalty advantage. But no, Emily Skirrid didn't, didn't matter. She's on her 50th appearance. She's flying high. And to be fair, all jokes aside, I really think she is peaking. She, there's been a turn in her performance. She is peaking for the six nations, which is great. Cross field kick.

to Alef Kelter who catches it beautifully. Now she's got one defender in front of her and for all love and money, Alef Kelter, the ice hockey raging bull, you think no problem, head down and she's just gonna drive it over. But she just shows the lovely diversity of her skillset to go actually, I can see Scherfield just in my peripheral vision who's got the footwork. And she does the softest little offload to Scherfield who runs around her back and scores in the corner. In that moment, so much skill, so much guts.

but selfless play as well. So my power play from last round was the Loughborough Lightning. Well done. Awesome, F.E.S. Also, you describe them so well. mean, how you haven't got a career as an audio book narrator by now. Wow, I know. I'm available, by the way. I am available. You want to hear my bedtime stories for the kids. I'm awesome. I do, I really do. I really do.

The Power Pod (43:35.07) Excellent. Well, thank you, Philippa. Well, it is all hotting up very, very nicely, isn't it? As we we head down, down the slippery slope that is the business end of the PWR season. We hope you enjoy any of the games that you're getting to this weekend. Do keep in touch with us via the power line. We would love to hear your thoughts on how things are turning out, how that top four is going to take shape with five teams in the mix. What are up to, Philippa, this weekend?

This weekend, I'm back into actually URC Rugby, United Rugby Championship. Good. I'm going to be heading down to Dragons who have had a bit of a tricky season. So hopefully this is the bounce back weekend. We shall see. Good. Well, yourself. Well, I am potentially nipping away. My sister has very kindly invited me to join them at a little ski spot they've got for the weekend. bore off, bore off.

had a very busy January. Mr. Ro, Mr. Skiing. right. Although to be honest, I'm fairly sure that the storm that is riding in on the jet stream that I've heard so much about this week is going to ensure we're not going anywhere. So if I find myself not going anywhere, I secretly will be delighted because I'm going to go to Valleys Way on Saturday if I can and watch that game. Fair play. So yes, I might just tell my husband that the flight's been cancelled just so can do that anyway.

But yes, so there we are. I'm too excited by the PWI to really want to go away and have fun on the slopes. But what a privilege that would be if I managed to. So that'll be that. Looking forward to being back with you next week. But in the meantime, thank you, everybody, for listening. Thank you, P.T. Thank you. And the Power Pod is a level production produced by our very own Caleb Matamba. Ta ta everybody. See you next time. Bye. Bye bye.