MATCH REPORT | Saracens Women 104-0 DMP Durham Sharks

Saracens Women moved top of the Premier 15s table with a resounding 104-0 victory over DMP Durham Sharks at StoneX Stadium. 

Alex Austerberry’s side kicked off 2022 in style, showing no sign of rust after the Christmas break.  

Sarries scored eight first-half tries, and ten in the second as they cruised past Durham. The result moves Sarries top on 38 points with a game in hand over second-placed Bristol, the postponed trip to Sale. 

The scoring began inside five minutes when flanker Katie Barnes dotted down on her first league start. 

Barnes, Alex Ellis and Carly Waters were all rewarded for impressive displays from the substitutes bench and in the Allianz Cup with a first league start here. 

The second try followed shortly after as Rachel Laqeretabua scored her first of the afternoon in a very exciting performance from the winger.

As Durham showed signs of settling, any hopes of stemming the tide were crushed when Hannah Botterman powered over taking a few Sharks defenders with her. 

Skipper Marlie Packer then sealed the bonus point after just 20 minutes. 

Her second was a glorious try with a deft assist from Botterman who was showing the full range of talents in her arsenal. 

There were several contenders for try of the day and Laqeretabua’s second came via a fantastic finish from some 25 metres out. 

May Campbell then registered her first of the year in typical fashion from the back of a rolling maul before Packer completed the first half scoring to make it 48-0. 

The hooker scored a nearly identical try at the start of the second period as the Sharks were pinned back from the restart.

Botterman and Kat Evans, who started on the flank, then scored Sarries tenth and 11^th tries. 

A rapturous applause greeted Lotte Clapp’s return to first team action, as she made her first appearance since the cup win over Sale Sharks on 14^th November. 

Ella Wyrwas added her name to the scoresheet, before Poppy Cleall stole the show from the bench in the final quarter of the game. 

The World player of the year nominee scored a hat-trick in just 20 minutes and added a new dimension to an already dominant Sarries pack. 

Alysha Corrigan added a late brace and fellow substitute Ellie Lennon thought she had scored her first league try only for it to be disallowed. 

With the game in overtime and Saracens on 99 points, prop Kelsey Clifford put the finishing touches to the afternoon moving the league leaders past three figures. 

It was perhaps fitting that a replacement rounded off the scoring, on a day which saw six tries scored by Sarries subs, a marker of the impressive depth to Austerberry’s squad. 

The team return to action next Saturday with a trip to seventh-placed Loughborough Lightning.

The sides have met twice previously this season, with Sarries running out 38-7 winners at the StoneX in the league, and 22-12 victors in the Allianz Cup.