Harlequins Women 8-22 Saracens Women
Another ‘Gamechanger’, another brutal encounter between these two powerhouses of the women’s top flight. In the end it was Saracens who came out on top but, just 50 days out from the Women’s Six Nations, injuries to England’s Jess Breach and Hannah Botterman marred a physical, attritional contest.
Breach was bundled into touch after a quarter of an hour played and looked in pain as she struggled to get up off the ground. She later emerged at half time with her arm cradled in a sling, her involvement in Simon Middleton’s England squad suddenly looking doubtful.
“I’m gutted for her – I hope it doesn’t affect her too much for the Six Nations, because that would be tough on her,” said Gerard Mullen, the Harlequins director of rugby, alluding to the ankle injury that forced Breach out of action for five months last season.
Saracens and England duo Zoe Harrison and Poppy Cleall were also noticeably absent – perhaps why it took a whole hour for the visitors to hit their stride. They eventually succeeded in wearing down their London rivals, with Vicky Fleetwood and Alysha Corrigan crashing over to settle a match which never really exploded into life.
Harrison was sporting a protective ankle boot, although she was walking around the west stand of the Stoop with little trouble and is expected to be back in time for the opening weekend of the women’s championship on March 26.
The same cannot be said of Botterman who, just days on from lifting the Duchess of Cambridge, the new patron of England’s rugby boards, in a light-hearted lineout at Twickenham, limped off in the second half, emerging with crutches and strapping around her left knee after the final whistle.
It was enough for Alex Austerberry, the Saracens head coach, to question the mounting number of injuries across the league. One theory is that players could be experiencing some sort of hangover from the Covid law variations that were introduced into the league last year, which limited gametime and scrums. Another plausible factor is the increasingly competitive nature of the women’s top flight.
“The injuries seem to be mounting across the league, and I don’t know why that is,” said Austerberry. What’s the direction of travel to ensure that one, we’re looking after players, and two, when it’s spectacles like this, the fans see the big names and the big players?
“If they’re [the players] broken, then we’ve got to look at doing something differently. We’ve just got to find a way of ensuring the welfare of our players so that they’re seen more often, but that doesn’t mean they have to play in every game.”
Without the usual high-profile players to provide the usual spice to this encounter, it was a chance for those like Alev Kelter, Saracens’ new sevens specialist from the USA, to shine. Having represented her country in both ice hockey and at under-20 level in soccer, she assumed kicking duties in Harrison’s absence with ease.
Match details
Scores: 5-0 Cokayne try, 5-5 Aitchison try, 5-7 Kelter con, 8-7 Tuima pen, 8-12 Fleetwood try, 8-15 Kelter con, 8-20 Corrigan try, 8-22 Kelter con.
Harlequins: F Aucken; H Cowell, L Tuima, R Burford, J Breach (I Mayhew 15) (E Green 72); E Scott (E Amory 75), L Packer (E Swords 65); T Viksten, A Cokayne, S Brown, R Galligan, S Beckett, L Bloor, B Dainton, A Harper (C Edwards 41).
Replacements: D Catlin, H Duffy, R Dobson.
Saracens: L Clapp; R Laqeretabua (C Miell 55), H Casey (C Wardle 70), A Kelter, A Corrigan; H Aitchison, E Wyrwas; H Botterman (K Clifford 69), M Campbell, A Ellis, S Green, G Evans, M Carson, J Rettie (V Fleetwood 57), M Packer.
Replacements: K Evans, J Turl, C Jacobs, C Waters.
Referee: C Gayther
