Harlequins Women defeat Saracens 19-10 in Allianz Premier 15s London derby
Harlequins Women have beaten their London rivals Saracens 19-10 in the Allianz Premier 15s at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday.
The result means that defending champions Saracens have dropped to fifth in the table, with Harlequins only one point behind them.
The derby match saw Saracens take the lead in the first part of the game with Isla Alejandro breaking through the Harlequins defence and feeding an excellent pass to Cara Wardle. A recovery of the ball by Alex Ellis allowed her to break through for a brilliant try, setting the score to 0-5.
In the 28th minute, May Campbell impressively crossed the back of a driving maul to score a second try for Saracens, and her fifth try of the league, to make it 0-10 in favour of the visitors.
While Saracens were unable to convert, things looked good for Alex Austerberry’s side.
Thirty minutes into the match, Harlequins were awarded a penalty try and Campbell was sent to the sin-bin for ten minutes.
Two minutes later, Wallaroo Bella McKenzie broke through the middle of the Saracens defence to put Harlequins into the lead.
Harlequins were up 12-10 at the start of the second half, which saw some excellent defending from the Quins and frustration from the Saracens attack.
Saracens’ Jodie Turl and Georgia Evans had to be helped off the field after falling prey to injury, and the Quins’ constant assault on the Saracens defence never faulted.
It was a great moment for retiring Sweden international prop Tove Viksten, who replaced Hannah Duffy, to seal the deal for the Quins in the 66th minute. Viksten powered over the Saracens defence to score the final try of the match. McKenzie added extra points with a conversion.
With 12 minutes left on the clock, there were plenty of opportunities for Saracens to change the scoreline. But despite strong driving mauls and opportunities lost in lineouts, the Quins defence proved to be too much for Saracens when the final whistle blew.
Saracens must look for a better performance in their next match as they will be facing now top-of-the-table Gloucester-Hartpury, who hammered Wasps 67-3 in their match.
With winning momentum behind them, Harlequins will now look to creep up the table as they turn their attention to Sale Sharks on 10th December.
