Claudia Moloney-MacDonald is hitting her best form at just the right time for Exeter as her performance was pivotal in the hosts’ victory against Sale. The England back, who was a part of the Red Roses’ grand slam-winning Six Nations campaign, scored four tries to confirm the club’s semi-final against Saracens on 14 June.
Moloney-MacDonald, who scored two tries against Bristol last week, was impressive in open play and among her scoring frenzy was a sensational effort in which she hunted down a kick through to dot down before the ball rolled out of play.
Exeter, who had secured a playoff place already but confirmed their opponents with the win, will travel to Stone X Stadium in their pursuit of a spot in the final but they face an in-form Saracens, who rounded off their regular season action with a dominant win over Trailfinders. That result confirmed the other semi-final between Gloucester-Hartpury, champions in the past three seasons, and Trailfinders.
The playoffs are where Sale will want to end up next season and they are building a squad to do just that. The Greater Manchester club already have stars such as England’s Amy Cokayne, Scotland’s Rhona Lloyd and Ireland’s Brittany Hogan in their ranks but they have announced the Red Roses’ Zoe Stratford, Tatyana Heard and Sarah Beckett are joining from Gloucester next season. They could yet add another World Cup-winner as Ellie Kildunne is a free agent after leaving Harlequins but is yet to confirm her next club.
Quick GuideExeter 50-24 Sale teams and scorers
Show
Exeter Elworthy; Poulin, Tessier (Preece 55), McGillivray, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald; McGoverne, F Robinson (Nye 61); Rogers (Middlebrooke 61), Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald (Tuttosi 4), Rule (Nigrelli 57), Van der Velden, Wall (Whitley 61), E Robinson, Allen (Dare 61), Menin. Tries Claudia Moloney-MacDonald 4, Tuttosi, Rogers 2, F Robinson. Cons Tessier 3, McGoverne 2.
Sale Duffy; Lloyd, Rigoni, Howard (Keight 61), Campbell, Aitchison, Relf; Harper (Bartlett 61), Cokayne (Wright 61), James (Benavent 61), Jarrell-Searcy, Donaldson, Childs, Perris-Redding, Hogan. Tries Perris-Redding, Cokayne, Hogan, Lloyd. Cons Duffy 2.
Referee Nikki O’Donnell (Eng). Attendance 2,543.
Sale were the side who started brighter at a windy and overcast Sandy Park. Highlights of their game included Holly Aitchison masterfully marshalling her side and the hooker Cokayne kicking a 50:22. But a try by Moloney-MacDonald began to turn the tide in a hugely competitive fixture with the hosts 24-12 up at half-time.
Exeter ran away with the game in the second half with try-scorers including the scrum-half Flo Robinson, who became the fourth women’s player to reach 100 appearances for the side.
The business end of the season now begins. Several questions will be answered over the next few weeks. Will Gloucester’s league dominance continue? Can Exeter or Trailfinders cause an upset? If Moloney-MacDonald’s form continues to peak, there may be a few surprises in store in England’s top flight.
