Gloucester-Hartpury have made history by securing a place in the Allianz Premier 15s semi-finals for the first-time last weekend. Head Coach, Sean Lynn, says it’s all down to hard work.

“This been building here for a while, but we sat down in the summer and said to ourselves how do we get into that top four.

“We knew we had a really good, talented squad so we had to retain those players and then strengthen with some quality additions.

“The girls have worked so hard this season to put things in place to make sure we’re in that top four.

“It hasn’t happened overnight; it’s been a long old process and it comes down to the hard work of everyone involved at the club.

“It was a really special moment after the game on Saturday to know we had qualified for the semi-finals.”

The Cherry & Whites’ semi-final place was confirmed in style with a 50-12 victory over Worcester Warriors at the Alpas Arena last weekend. Lynn was pleased with his side’s performance, especially given the number of players unavailable.

“It was very pleasing. Putting fifty points on any team in the Premier 15s is impressive and it just showed the strength in depth that we have got.

“We’ve got a long old injury list with some key players on however, this league is about giving opportunities and some individuals really out their hands up.

“It’s exactly what I wanted to see and it’s a real positive to head into the Six Nations break on that high.”

Lynn was happy with what he saw from all his starting players, as well as the impact that the replacements brought to the game. He believes that’s important for his team to challenge for the league title.

“It’s lovely to Lleucu George back, she’s a very good kicking ten and plays the territory game really well. But her distribution is great too and she understands the game so well.

“Neve Jones covered every blade of grass as she does every week, and Sophie Bridger keeps getting better every game she plays.

“It’s great to be able to bring the likes of Ellie Rugman and Rachel Lund of the bench to make an impact. And when you have a bench that strong, with the likes of Connie Powell and Cerys Hale as well.

“It’s really pleasing as a coach and it’s great to have players from 1 to 23 that are all putting their hands up and fighting for that starting jersey.”

Gloucester-Hartpury end their current block of league fixtures on a high, with a break in Premier 15s action for the TikTok Women’s Six Nations. 23 Gloucester-Hartpury players have been called up across the England, Wales and Ireland squads, Lynn is excited to see his players in international action.

“It’s amazing to see so many girls called up and they really deserve it. I wish all the girls the best of luck for their respective countries, and I’ll be watching every game from home, cheering them on in what’s set to be another fantastic Six Nations.”

But Lynn’s still got work to do with Gloucester-Hartpury, they’ve got a home Allianz Cup semi-final on the horizon.

“Those of us back at home still have business to attend to, we’re going back into the Allianz Cup and building for our home semi-final on the 22 April.

“We’re really big on building the pathway here. Hartpury University have a big semi-final coming up so they’ll work with us to prepare themselves for that and also it will help us with our preparations for that semi-final in April.”

Lynn finished: “The girls want to entertain and have fun. They’re a really tight-knit squad and it does show. Going into tight moments they pull together and that’s pulled us through the tricky parts of this season, it’s great to be part of this team.”

Sean Lynn Interview |

Lynn talks top four confirmation, Allianz Cup return & internationals

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