![]() Sunday's semi-final at Sandy Park seems a tough one to call - both sides have won their home games against one another, and neither has ever won at the home of their opponents. "The fact they're over my shoulder saying, 'Look at this, look at the hooker, she's standing up,' or whatever it may be, it's just a great learning environment for me and the girls and they're bouncing off each other, which is fantastic." Will home advantage be key as Exeter host Saracens? "We've also got the likes of Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler, they're training at the moment because they're getting prepped for their World Cup camp. "It was quite funny, he was like, 'What are you going to go for?' "I was chatting yesterday to Pat about selection," Ward said. "The girls have worked incredibly hard to get to where they are and I just want them to go and enjoy Saturday, but Saturday's not our final, Saturday's a semi-final, and that'll be our message this week."īristol share their training facilities with the men's side, which means Ward and his players have had some extra expertise to help them prepare. "The way we've been playing we can beat anyone on our day, all we need is two days to do it and we can go and win this league. "I'm happy to take the underdog tag heading in out of the four teams," he told BBC Sport. Standing in their way is a Bristol side who suffered heartbreak at this stage last season when they conceded a try three minutes from full-time to lose 28-24 at Exeter.ĭespite finishing 17 points off Gloucester in the regular season Bristol's boss Dave Ward feels a trip to Kingsholm does not mean they cannot book a place in the final. "It helps when you go into these play-off games that it's not just one or two voices, they're all playing a big part in this, and that's something that we've been working on in the last three weeks." ![]() "But also having Zoe Aldcroft, who's been in the World Cup final and Six Nations, then you've got Mo Hunt at nine, and then you've got someone like Lleucu George, the territorial gain from her is outstanding. "Having someone like her in that number eight pivotal spot is great for us," head coach Sean Lynn told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. On the field they have an inspirational force in England back-row Sarah Beckett who joined last summer having won the title at Harlequins to add to their other England stars. Gloucester have twice had the better of Bristol in the league this season ![]() Off the field they have had an inspirational pep talk from adventurer Jamie McDonald - the first man to run Canada coast-to-coast unaided and the world record holder for the most miles run on a treadmill. The Cherry and Whites crushed Bristol 36-5 when the sides met in November in Gloucester, although there was only two points in it when they came away from their neighbours in the return fixture in February. Gloucester are on paper the most fancied side to make the final on 24 June after winning 16 of their 18 games, and one of those two losses came last week to second-placed Exeter with top spot already secured. Gloucester and Bristol aim for first-ever final Then on Sunday it is a repeat of last year's final as champions Saracens travel to Sandy Park to take on Exeter Chiefs. ![]()
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