Gloucester-Hartpury boss Sean Lynn is determined to learn from the lessons of last season as his side bid to make the end of season semi-finals this time around in the Allianz Premier 15s. 

Last season they finished in the top half of the table with 50 points – ten below Loughborough Lightning, who claimed the last semi-finals berth.  

Competition is certain to once again be fierce but Lynn is desperate to turn a positive pre-season into a fast start in this year’s competition.

“Yes, we need to learn from last season,” said Lynn. 

“It has to be the case for everyone and I’m sure every person we coach and every player, they all want to be in the top four but only four teams can be and that’s why we need to improve again.

“We’re taking it week-by-week and the first three weeks has been massive for us. 

“The nice thing is how we finished, we played Worcester in the pre-season and we finished where we left off in the Exeter game. We’re looking to build on that now.

“I think the Allianz Premier 15s is a great advert for women’s rugby and so yes we’re looking forward to it, every game is a big game. We can’t wait and we need to perform.

“The biggest things for me are the girls go out there for 80 minutes, smiles on their faces, play for each other and be warriors and go from there.”  

The Premier 15s season will once again be played over 18 rounds, culminating with play-offs (21 May 2022) and a title final (4 June 2022, venue TBC). 

As with last season, the top four teams will play their semi-final over one leg, hosted at the respective grounds of the first and second ranked team after the conclusion of the regular season. 

The league introduced new rules for 2020-2021 intended to reduce face-to-face contact during the Covid-19 pandemic, including a play advantage law from a knock-on and the removal for the option for a scrum at free-kick or penalty.  

Lynn and his squad are eager for the return of normal playing conditions, which will also see the end of 35-minute halves. 

“Pre-season has gone really well, we’re really happy with how the girls have gone into it,” added Lynn. 

“So, we went on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays this year and Friday was a bit of a fun day and it was when we set a postcode for where we were going go for a bit of team-building then. 

“Very different but the girls have gone along with that and it has helped us considerably.

“The big focus is the set-piece, we’re getting on board with the coaching staff, James Forrester has helped us massively in pre-season, so that’s a big focal point just because we’re going back to the old laws, it will be really nice to play off our back and play off the scrums again.”

The Allianz Premier 15s is the top-flight women’s domestic rugby union competition in England. For all the latest news from the Allianz Premier 15s, you can follow @Premier15s on Twitter and Instagram. You can also watch live action on Premier15s.com throughout the 2021/22 campaign.