A Record Year for the Saracens Women Academy

The 25/26 season has marked a record year for the Saracens Women’s Academy.

Building upon the success of the previous season, the games started thick and fast with the academy competing in both the RFU ACE and AOC Premiership League. Challenged with bringing the Saracens DNA to life, the academy began to find their flow and produced their highest scoring season to date across both leagues. For the AOC league, we narrowly missed out on the playoffs by 1 point, however, in the RFU ACE league, we won our playoff finals securing 5th place.

The growth in our performances and embodiment of the Saracens DNA is fundamentally centred upon the player, and the importance which we place upon developing every individual. This season saw a record 11 players (24% of training squad) called up to England U18s Camp, with 5 of these players gaining international honours, representing England in the U18 6 Nations (Leila Crick, Alix Ahad, Scarlett Beech, Jemima Mitchell, and Lily Pereira dos Santos). This achievement, we are incredibly proud of, as not only does thisdemonstrate their talent and dedication, but also reflects the rapid progression and strength of the Academy based at Oaklands College. From a wider pathway perspective, we also saw 20 players selected for the RFU PDG Pathway, and a continued representation at County and Club level which is fantastic to see.

Looking ahead, we are very excited to see how our leavers continue to progress in their rugby journeys, with players continuing their journeys with Saracens and the senior side, whilst others are exploring new opportunities through apprenticeships, University and full-time employment. With our ever-expanding alumni network, it also great to see the success of previous Academy players on both the domestic and international stage, with representation in the PWR, Championship and BUCS as well as for GB 7s, England and Wales U21s.

Commenting on this record season for the Academy, and the prospects for next season, Pathway Lead Niamh McHugh said:

“It really has been a season of growth for us at the Academy, which has cumulated in both our performances on the pitch but also the success of players on the international stage. The record number of players selected for the Six Nations marks a major achievement for the programme and underlies the strength of our partnership with Oaklands College in developing elite female rugby talent.

The addition of a new cohort of aspiring Saracens players will only strengthen the current squad, and really push this Academy to new heights, something I am incredibly exited about. I cannot wait to see what this Academy can achieve next season, and look forward to seeing how we can further strengthen our Wolfpack and embody the DNA of Saracens”.