MATCH REACTION | Alex Austerberry (PWR Rd-3)

Director of Rugby Alex Austerberry praised the efforts of his forwards, as they broke down Harlequins Women in ruthless fashion at the Twickenham Stoop.

On a freezing cold afternoon, Sarries produced a brutal display of strength to leave the hosts scoreless. Austerberry was quick to single out his pack for their efforts, highlighting some key momentum changes during the opening quarter.

“I thought the efforts of the pack especially were outstanding. The maul game gave us an unbelievable platform. It was a bit of a stop-start first twenty minutes and I thought Quins were actually on top at that point, but there were some real key moments with turnovers and the likes of Donna Rose popping up with huge tackles, which stopped the momentum.”

Even in victory, the DoR still found room for his side to improve, as he challenged his side to be more competitive with the ball in hand. Despite that though, he reflected on what turned out to be a near-perfect afternoon with great pride.

“In the second half, we were a lot more clinical and a lot more ruthless. It certainly wasn’t easy though; it was a real challenge. The scoreline reflected the dominance of our maul, but it didn’t reflect the dominance we had in open play too. Both teams will look back on opportunities that didn’t stick and feel that they could have been more clinical. I think we could have been more effective with the ball at times, but to come to Harlequins, score five tries and keep them scoreless is unbelievable. You couldn’t wish for more from a game like this and that’s credit to everyone today.”

One of the standout performers was Welsh international Donna Rose, who started her first club match since suffering an ACL injury before the start of last season. Austerberry praised the backroom staff for getting Rose back out on the pitch, as well as singling out the prop for praise after a hugely impressive showing.

“I said to Donna at the end of the game that it’s the best I’ve ever seen her play. Put that into the context of coming back from an ACL injury too and it’s phenomenal. Credit to her, the medical team and the S&C team too. For her to come back and play and to then play to that level too, is huge credit to her and I’m really happy for her. That was a real marker that she’s put down and to do it in such a big game is testament to her.”

Wing Paige Farries also scored her first two tries for the club since joining from Worcester, with Austerberry expressing his joy at seeing the Canadian international quickly settle into life in North London.

“Paige is a very experienced player and we saw some great finishing from her today. That first try was down to the execution from Amelia on the crossfield kick, but she still had to be on the money to finish it. We’re really pleased with how Paige has come into the group and hit the ground running.”

Final praise though, was reserved for young fly-half Amelia MacDougall, who stepped into Zoe Harrison’s shoes to great effect away at her side’s biggest rivals.

“People can’t forget that Amelia is still 18 years old. To steer the ship like she did in a hostile environment is huge credit to her. To play with the assurance she did was brilliant. We know the potential that she has, but games like this one will help accelerate her development. She should be really proud of how she played, and you can’t underestimate the pressure that she was under. You look at her development from the cup to now, and you can already see that growth.”