Tearful Maher bows out of English rugby with try in Bristol defeat to Gloucester

A tearful Ilona Maher signed off her time in English club rugby with a try for Bristol Bears but it was not enough to prevent a 36-20 defeat against their west country rivals Gloucester-Hartpury in the women’s Premiership semi-final.

Maher, who has more than 8m social media followers, has been a groundbreaking addition to the PWR, signing for Bristol in December and bringing record attendances and global attention to the women’s club game.

Maher’s second-half try had given Bristol hope of pulling off a comeback but it just was not enough to overcome Gloucester, who proved why they are the league’s back-to-back defending champions. Maher, who joined the PWR to aid her bid to make the USA squad for this year’s Rugby World Cup, did not rule out a return to the English top flight: “I never say never. It was amazing I even got to come and play here for two and a half months. I hope that even when I am not playing this league continues to grow and we can get these numbers out to games even when I am not there.”

Maher was visibly emotional at the defeat but it came at the hands of a Gloucester side whose form in the second half of the season has been impressive. After losing at home to Bristol in November, they won their final nine regular-season matches to top the table and secure a home semi-final.

A player who left her mark on those wins is the full-back Emma Sing, whose accurate boot kept the scoreboard ticking in the semi-final. Her performance may boost her England chances with the Women’s Six Nations on the horizon as the Red Roses head coach John Mitchell was watching on alongside the 6,702 fans at the temporarily renamed Queensholm.

Red smoke and fireworks, soundtracked by The Greatest Show, welcomed the teams to the pitch and the semi-final more than lived up to the song choice. The opening 28 minutes were completely dominated by Bristol and, though they scored two tries through Lark Atkin-Davies, they should have capitalised more on their momentum with multiple visits to the 22 adding nothing to the scoreboard.

Bristol’s inability to twist the knife came back to haunt them as Gloucester were much more clinical when their chances came. Two visits to the 22 yielded two tries, through Ellena Perry and Sarah Beckett, and with the boot of Sing the hosts edged ahead.

Emma Sing crosses the line to score a try for Gloucester. Photograph: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK/Shutterstock

A sumptuous Gloucester team try, finished off by Hannah Jones, led to deafening applause and a pinpoint penalty from Sing ended proceedings to send them through to the final, where they will play Saracens on 16 March.

If Gloucester manage to overcome the London club they will win the PWR title for the third season in a row. Aldcroft said: “I think it would be a legacy for this group. To create history would be absolutely unbelievable so we are going to give it everything over the next two weeks to go and do that.”

The post-match applause from fans was not only celebrating the hosts’ win but also commemorating head coach Sean Lynn’s time at the club. Lynn will leave Gloucester after the PWR final as he has been appointed the Wales women head coach. That meant the semi-final was his final home game in charge. Lynn said: “I have put my heart and soul into five years with Gloucester-Hartpury. My family, they just love it. When I talk about inspiring, these girls, players and staff have inspired my three kids. That is what sport is about, these girls are unbelievable. I’m really excited to go to Saracens’ backyard [in the final], it doesn’t get bigger than that.”