Red Roses fly-halves go head-to-head and other key battles in PWR semi-finals

The  Premiership Women’s Rugby semi-finals take place on Sunday, with Saracens hosting Bristol Bears at the StoneX and reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury welcoming Exeter Chiefs to Kingsholm in a rematch of last year’s final.

Telegraph Sport picks out four key head-to-heads that are set to play a part in where each semi-final is won and lost.

Saracens v Bristol Bears, Sunday, June 9, 2pm, live on TNT Sports 1

Zoe Harrison v Holly Aitchison

It is one of the most talked about match-ups in the English women’s game: the former and current Red Roses fly-halves lining up on opposite sides.

Harrison returned to the English top flight with a bang after being ruled out for most of 2023 with a knee injury and has a point to prove to Red Roses head coach John Mitchell, who favoured Aitchison at No 10 during the Six Nations.

Harrison, 26, has certainly been busy making up for lost time. The Saracen has played six hours less than Aitchison at club level this season but has kicked four times as much (her sumptuous 50:22 in the first half against Gloucester-Hartpury a fortnight ago was a match-defining moment).

Aitchison’s high-profile move from Saracens down the M4 came with much hype but Bristol are yet to get the best out of her. An audaciously flat distributor of the ball, she has been deployed at inside centre for the third week running. With Amber Reed preferred at fly-half, the positional switch could add extra spice to the occasion.

May Campbell v Lark Atkin-Davies

The battle at hooker is an intriguing one. Atkin-Davies is a superb line-out operator and knows how to strut her stuff in the red zone – you sense big-match players like her will be crucial if Bristol are to break their semi-final hoodoo.

Campbell is one of the most underrated hookers in the league. She has been one of Saracens’ most consistent performers in recent seasons but has had to contend with being on the periphery of the Red Roses squad, despite her pedigree as a destructive ball-carrier and dominant tackler. Both have punished teams with their close-range efficiency this season, with Campbell particularly impressive in the loose.

Gloucester-Hartpury v Exeter Chiefs, June 9, 4.30pm, live on TNT Sports 1

Zoe Aldcroft v Maddie Feaunati

A monster battle. Both have shown their versatility by operating at blindside flanker and No 8 but it is in the latter position where they are at their best. Aldcroft, who starred in this year’s Six Nations, is a world-beating competitor. There are few who can match her industriousness around the breakdown and go-forward in attack. Expect her to go the full 80.

Feaunati, meanwhile, will be keen to make an impact after picking up her first full-time contract with the RFU in the week. The Chief is still something of an unpolished diamond since joining from New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aupiki competition at the start of the season but has already shown flashes of her brilliance. Although seasoned USA international Rachel Johnson has been given the nod at No 8, expect Feaunati to bring the fireworks when she comes on as an impact player.

Tatyana Heard v Gabby Cantorna

Heard, another A-lister who stood out in England’s victorious Six Nations campaign, has the upper hand here. The 29-year-old is in her prime after a torrid time with injury in the early part of her career and is more of a punchy runner than Cantorna, who is a measured head in Exeter’s midfield.

Cantorna’s link-up play with Japan international Kanako Kobayashi on her outside has terrorised opposition defences and must ask questions of Gloucester-Hartpury’s intrepid back-line. Her streetwise kicking will have to be inch perfect as the Cherry and Whites punish teams who are sloppy in possession.

It is also worth keeping an eye on Mia Venner and Katie Buchanan – explosive talents and zippy runners awarded England transition contracts in the week who could meet on the wing.