Super W Grand Final 2021

Who won Super W 2021?

So we finally have it. After a year of ups and down’s for Women’s rugby, we’ve managed to see out a full competition (sort of). In a year of uncertainty, starting with the postponement of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 and Western Force Women’s having to pull out half way through Super W, we’ve made it to grand finals day. Read our Super W 2021 final match reports below.

NSW Waratahs vs Queensland Reds – Super W Grand Final

This match up was a repeat of the previous Super W finals, and with the NSW Waratahs having won all previous finals and having beaten the Reds comfortably in Round 1 they were going into this as clear favourites.

The QLD Reds got off to a flying start with intensity in defence and some great phase play to work their way up the field. They scored a well deserved try from some strong forward play, with Liz Patu crashing over in the early stages of the game to take a 5-0 lead.

The Waratahs started to get themselves into the game after conceding the early try, with the team orchestrated by Bella McKenzie at 10 who was superb all afternoon. McKenzie created their first try of the afternoon, running a wrap-around before putting Mahalia Murphy through a gap, who ran a great line herself to burst through the resilient Reds defence. She passed wide to Maya Stewart, who ran over for a simple score and took her tally to 7 in the Super W season.

For the next period of the match, NSW Waratahs started to assert some sustained pressure. Eventually, this turned into some points with a quick-tap penalty being spun out to Eva Karpani, who was unstoppable from 5 metres out to score.

With the clock going into stoppage time for the half, the Waratahs scored one of the best tries of the afternoon. With broken field, the Tahs showed some great interplay and offloads to charge up the pitch. The Reds were scrambling, and the Tahs then got the ball out wide to score in the left hand corner through winger Margot Vella. Half time 19-5 to the Tahs.

The Reds came out in the second half trying to fight their way back into the game, but made some  unforced errors which stopped them getting any momentum. The Waratahs then managed to get another try through Bella McKenzie, who glided through the Reds defence to get the important first score after the interval that made the comeback look even tougher for the Reds.

The Reds did get on the scoresheet again off some tight phase play from the forwards, with Bree-Anna Cheatham eventually getting over the line. This was to be the Reds final points of the game.

The Waratahs found another gear for the final 20 minutes of the match with some fluid, running rugby. Firstly, Mahalia Murphy showed her pace to get on the scoresheet, another try brilliantly created by the imperious McKenzie. McKenzie yet again was involved in the next try, picking from the base of a ruck, drawing two defenders before offloading to Emily Chancellor who weaved her way over the whitewash. Vella got her second of the afternoon late on in the match to put the cream on top of a very comfortable Waratahs win.

Final score was 45-12 and a 4th Super W championship in the bag for the NSW Waratahs!

Rebels vs Brumbies

The first match of finals day kicked off bright and early at 9am and this was a repeat of one of the opening fixtures of the Super W. Just a fortnight ago, the Brumbies ran out 30-5 winners vs the Rebels so were going into this match as favourites. The Rebels had yet to win a game in the competition, so were looking to finish the season on a high and with some pride.

The match proved to be a much tighter contest than that opening fixture. The Rebels had an early penalty around 10 minutes into the match that was pulled slightly left of the posts. The Brumbies had to spend most of the first half defending, with the Rebels bringing wave after a wave of pressure.

Finally, they broke the deadlock through Kelera Ratu, who dived over in the corner after some smart interplay in the Rebels backline. Georgia Cormack wasn’t able to add the extras from a difficult kick on the touchline and with the Brumbies missing a penalty on the stroke of half time, the score was 5-0 at the interval.

After the break, the Brumbies started to create some opportunities. Michaela Leonard charged over to score from a lineout and the try was initially given, only to be ruled out as held up after the Referee consulted with the touch judge. The Brumbies did eventually get their try through Teliya Hetaraka, who started the move through a smart grubber kick that Tess Staines was able to keep alive for Hetaraka to regather and touch down. Ashley Bishop made the all-important conversion to take the Brumbies into a narrow 7-5 lead.

There was grandstand finish to the game. First, Georgia Cormack slotted a penalty to give the Rebels a 1 point lead and it looked as though they were destined to get their first win of the season. With only a couple of minutes left on the clock, the Brumbies managed to get themselves up the pitch and earn a penalty of their own. Melania Kawa was deemed to be off her feet and the Brumbies had a chance to win the match from 22 metres out in front of the posts.

Teliya Hetaraka slotted the points and claimed a victory at the death for the Brumbies, meaning absolute heartache for the Rebels. Final score, 10-8.

Presidents XV vs Super W Select

The second game of finals day was an unpredictable one, with the Super W Select team being brought together as last minute replacements for the Western Force, so the game promised to be a Barbarians-style mentality from both sides.

The first try came from an initial quick tap penalty and fast phase play to get Presidents XV up the pitch. Paris Ingegneri picked from the base of a ruck and popped the ball into the onrushing Jemima McCalman, who glided past the last defender to score under the posts.

The Super W Selects did manage to get onto the scoresheet themselves with the clock in first half overtime. After a couple of tight phases in the forwards, Vetekina Aho-Fangaloka powered over for a well earnt score. The try was converted to go into half time all-square at 7-7.

Presidents XV started the second half brightly, asserting several phases of pressure. Isla Norman-Bell put through a tricky kick which Selects couldn’t deal with and Norman-Bell was on hand to regather the ball and touch down in the corner.

As the game began to open up, Selects found their way back into it through a mismatch in midfield meaning Claudia McLaren could show her pace to go round the outside of the Presidents XV defence to earn herself a deserved try. The try was converted to take Selects into a narrow 14-12 lead.

The game continued to swing either way and Presidents XV got themselves back into the lead through a penalty right in front of the posts that was converted comfortably by Tylah Vallance. Presidents XV managed to hold onto a one point lead of 15-14 until the dying moments of the game. With the siren ringing out across the field, Selects won a scrum against the head before inexplicably kicking possession away. Luck was on their side however, with Presidents XV fumbling the ball and giving a penalty away around 25 metres out in front of the posts.

With the clock in the red, Lori Cramer struck the ball beautifully through the sticks and sparked wild celebrations from the Select team that had only been together for a couple of days.

The Select team brought together some emerging talent from Country rugby, as well as Super W players showing potential. This result and the quality of the game itself represents that the talent pool is growing in Women’s Rugby and we have a lot to be excited about for the future of the game.