Miell: We need to make sure we perform for the full 80

Chantelle Miell knows her team will need to continue striving for an 80-minute performance this weekend.

Saracens Women travel to Worcester Warriors Women this Saturday (KO12H00) in the final round of Tyrrells Premier 15s before the Women’s Six Nations.

The Women in Black started 2020 with a 39 – 31 win at home against Loughborough Lightning, and while Miell knows there were positives from the game, there are improvements needed.

“I think the first half was really good, we were consistent, and we were quite dominant. We kept them out, didn’t really let them have much ball and our possession was quite good.

“For some reason we let it slip in the first half of the second half and we lost a lot of momentum and we struggled to get it back.

“In the last ten minutes we managed to grind it out but again, going forward, we really need to get that 80-minute performance instead of just the 40 or just the 60.

“Against top of the league teams it’s going to be really down to the wire. We need to make sure we perform for the full 80.”

The utility back was a late addition to the starting line-up last weekend with Sarah McKenna dropping out due to injury.

Miell impressed despite that late shift from the bench to the starting XV especially against a team with renowned kickers like Katy Daley-McLean, Emily Scarratt and Helen Nelson.

“Yeah it was a bit of a shock if I’m honest! It was really unfortunate that McKenna had to pull out because she’s one of our key impact players.

“I’ve not played a lot of fullback recently, so I needed to channel everything towards thinking about fullback, especially against a team like Loughborough who like to kick a lot, so things like positioning were really key.”

Saracens travel to Sixways Stadium to take on a confident Worcester Warriors Women side that have won their last three home matches, including a 24 – 17 win over Richmond Women last weekend.

Despite the difference in league positions, Worcester currently sit in eighth compared to Saracens’ second, Miell respects the potential within the home team’s squad.

And with this being the final Tyrrells Premier 15s fixture before the international break, the fullback knows the team will want to lay down a marker for the rest of the season.

“You can never underestimate any team in the Prem. Worcester have a lot of Welsh internationals, so they have a lot of strengths within their squad.

“We’ve got to make sure we perform and maybe try things that didn’t work so well last week against Loughborough.

“We haven’t really reached our full peak yet and with a long break after this weekend we’ll want to keep building towards the end of the TP15s season.”