While Chiefs never looked like losing control of this game, their forward firepower was undone by their occasionally ragged defence, with the kick battle between both sides morphing into something of a lottery.
Abby Dow’s try immediately after the break injected fresh energy into Quins’ attack, but it was never quite enough as Exeter ran in three unanswered second-half tries to seal the deal and further underline their title credentials in this marquee fixture.
Harlequins deserve all the credit for giving the women the same billing as the men and making them as visible as their male counterparts.
But would a sold-out Twickenham Stoop for a women’s fixture be a much bigger statement than a few thousand barely audible around the cavernous bowels of Twickenham? “That’s a really tough question,” said Emily Scott, the Harlequins’ fly-half, who was one of the hosts’ brightest players on the pitch all afternoon.
“A packed out Stoop would be brilliant as that’s our home ground, but for me personally, I just love Twickenham. If you’re a rugby player, it’s something you strive for. I’ll never get tired of running out on that field.”
Match details
Scoring sequence: 0-5 Zachary try, 0-7 McGoverne con, 0-12 Allen try, 0-14 McGoverne con, 3-14 McKenzie, 8-14 Packer try, 10-14 McKenzie con, 13-14 McKenzie pen, 13-19 Johnson try, 13-21 McGovern con, 18-21 Dow try, 18-26 Jefferies try, 18-28 McGovern con, 18-33 Macdonald try, 18-35 McKenzie con, 23-35 Sims try, 25-35 Tuima con, 25-40 Macdonald try, 25-45 McGillivray try, 25-47 McGoverne con, 25-52 Zachary try, 25-54 McGoverne con.
Harlequins: F Aucken; A Dow, L Torley (B Wilcock 55), L Tuima, B McKenzie (B Blacklock 60); E Scott (S Cooper 71), L Packer (E Swords 53); H Sims (R Dobson 71) A Cokayne, H Edwards (B Latsha 53), K Leaney, S Bonar (R Galligan 11), L Brooks, E Robinson, K Mew (E Chancellor 60).
Exeter Chiefs: M Doidge; E Sinclair (N Fryday 71), K Zachary, G Cantorna (N McGillivray 60), C Macdonald; L McGoverne, F Robinson (B Bradley 73); H Rogers (S Turani 73), C Moloney (E Tuttosi 73), D Menin (C Jacoby 73), N Fryday, P Leitch, E McMahon (E Jefferies 2) M Allen, R Johnson.
