MATCH REPORT | Harlequins Women 0-31 Saracens Women (PWR Rd-3)
Saracens Women silenced the Stoop, as they put in a cold weather clinic to nil the hosts.
After two bonus point wins, Saracens knew that they would have to bring the intensity in Twickenham if they were do continue their fine start to the season.
With temperatures not going above freezing throughout the afternoon, this was a performance to really warm the hearts.
It was the hosts who started the better, as they built the phases in the Sarries 22, before a long stoppage in play after a serious injury for Harlequins’ Carys Phillips.
After play resumed, it was Saracens who upped the intensity, with Sophie de Goede plucking the Quins lineout our of the air for fun.
Sarries were continuing to press and probe, with the maul starting to dominate the game.
After Rosie Galligan had put in a powerful charge against her former side, Saracens eventually opened the scoring after the first quarter. It came again from the work at the maul, with the pack causing chaos, before May Campbell capitalised from close range, with de Goede converting off the crossbar.
Sarries were continuing to build, as Quins lost two players to the bin, with Amelia MacDougall nearly putting de Goede clean through.
Eventually though, the pressure told, with Marlie Packer crossing from the back of a maul to increase her side’s advantage shortly before half-time.
As the second half got underway, Sarries continued to dominate, with Paige Farries looking dangerous in attack and the maul continuing to pull Quins to shreds around the park.
In similar vein to the first half, it took time for Sarries to break down the hosts’ defence, as they continued to press and probe in the attacking third.
Eventually, it was Farries who added the third for her side, as she latched onto a superb crossfield kick from 18-year old fly-half Amelia MacDougall, with de Goede again adding the conversion.
Saracens were purring in attack now, with Donna Rose playing out of her skin alongside May Campbell and Kelsey Clifford in the front-row.
The bonus point try followed with a quarter of the game left and there was no surprise that again it came from the maul, this time the referee having no choice but to award a penalty try, after Quins had lost Shaunagh Brown to the sin-bin.
Things were continuing to go Sarries’ way, as they fed off of Harlequins errors to put themselves back into the attacking half.
With time ticking away, Farries finished off a well-worked move for her second of the game, as her side broke the thirty-point mark.
Saracens weren’t done there though and continued to hammer away at the Quins defence as they went in search of a sixth try.
In the end, they came up short of that, but tempers flared after the final whistle, as Harlequins flanker Emily Robinson saw yellow for a headbutt.
That shouldn’t dampen what was a clinical performance from Saracens though, as they left their London rivals scoreless and kept up their perfect start to the campaign.
