Claudia Peña: Harlequins' pocket-sized hurricane keen to keep making magic

Spain’s Claudia Peña arrived in the PWR akin to a pocket-sized hurricane: all offloads, split steps, and audacious jackalling. She stalked pitches like her national side’s namesake: a lithe, apex predator – running the canniest of lines, slamming home 50:22s, and making everyone else in quarters look ten per cent better.

In her first London Derby, she produced an instantly-iconic hand-off on the great Marlie Packer, and then spent the rest of the campaign becoming revered, targeted, and adored in equal measure.

For those of us newly-acquainted with the Catalan phenomenon, her ricocheting about the place with such poise at the tender age of 20 made the whole thing even more captivating, but – for those familiar with her work – it was par for the course: Peña takes to everything like an omnipotent duck to water.

She was representing Barcelona in her mid-teens, having been hauled into the sport by a rugby-mad father and brother. It was love at first tackle, but she credits her other interests – “I was a very busy child!” – with how well-rounded her game is today.

Hockey honed hand-eye co-ordination and laid the foundations for an infamous engine; swimming gave her a whopping capacity to endure and focus; and piano helped with self-expression and calmness. To this day, she listens to classical music en route to matches, before she and Laura Delgado crank up the Spanish dance classics in the dressing room.

At 17, she represented her country for the first time. At 18, she sparkled so brilliantly at the Toulouse sevens that she found herself rubbing shoulders with the likes of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Maddi Levi, and Shiray Kaka on the tournament Dream Team.

At 19, having just been named MVP for Spain’s top-flight domestic league, she signed for Harlequins. At 20, she competed at her first World Cup – playing every minute, bar a pesky HIA, and scoring against world number fives, Ireland.

Does she have to stop and pinch herself sometimes? She grins, a Rugby World Cup 2025 friendship bracelet still on her wrist, from across the table at Quins’ base in Guildford. “I do sometimes force my feet to touch the ground – just to make sure I appreciate everything that’s going on, and how cool it is I’m doing all of this. I’m living my best life, and achieving a lot!

“But I also remind myself that this isn’t luck: it’s a reflection of everything I’ve put in over the last few years, and the people I have around me. It’s the training, all the pieces around that, and the finding of a balance between rugby and life – because it can’t all go well all the time – and then it’s everyone who’s pushed me on: my family, friends and teammates.”

Unsurprisingly, given the way she’d lit up Liga Iberdrola, and bagged four tries in three WXV matches the previous year, Quins weren’t the only PWR giants chasing the fearless teenager’s signature. Their secret weapon? Las Leonas captain and cultural ambrosia, Delgado.

Bimba’s seal of approval was the finishing touch to the Londoner’s courtship – as she spoke glowingly of the club’s proud history, but also its current, superb culture. The tyro knew, within days of arriving in TW2, that she’d made the right call: “this was, without doubt, the best club I could have joined.”

She enthuses about the squad, staff, facilities, fanbase, and “one club” mantra – as well as one of her favourite facets: their infamous licence to thrill.

“Being able to entertain on the pitch is so special – and playing inspiring rugby is in our essence. It’s not a coincidence that we produce our best stuff when we’re having fun.”

She’s not the only precocious talent in Ross Chisholm’s set-up – “we’re building together as a group” – and there is one individual, in particular, with whom she’s developing a scintillating rapport.

“Playing with Pez [Sarah Parry] is so fun: she’s always got my back, we understand each other’s games instinctively, and she’s just so talented. It’s the perfect combination. We both still have a lot to learn, but have this amazing relationship where we’re very open and honest with each other – so we’re growing in tandem.”

We only caught glimpses of that Parry-Peña midfield last season – they were only starting centres once – but they’ve buddied up on each and every occasion this campaign, and Chisholm has sung the combination’s praises as both formidably talented, and seriously impressive in their consistency.

Six played this year – six starts, every minute, and 29 points, in case you were wondering – all with 13 on her back. Not that she’s out of place across the back three – and she’s relishing the kicking duties she’s garnered over the summer (one of her hardest ‘pinch me’ moments came during a springtime session with maestro sharp-shooter, Leigh Halfpenny).

What’s her best position, then? “That depends entirely on the side I’m fitting into! I genuinely don’t care: I just want to play as much as I can, and contribute to the team. I do love outside centre: the freedom to create, carry, or pass – and the decision-making in defence.”

Her work without the ball is one of her super strengths, and she knows it. Her first shot at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday will be her 100th tackle attempt of the season – only four other players have made more – and she’s tracking to repeat the heroics of last year’s eight won turnovers.

That said – her favourite thing about defence is the knowledge that it only functions when the team does: that a mammoth set or momentum-wrenching steal is the result of collaborative efforts. “Defence takes everyone being on the same page, which I love. Once we have that ball back,” she twinkles, “then we can make some magic.”

The PWR reminds us weekly that it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight – cue Maisy Allen, Daisy Hibbert-Jones, and May Campbell – and Peña is yet another athlete with a stunning bounce-to-ounce ratio. She does admit, though – to looking up last weekend, clocking Sale’s Katana Howard and Laura Perrin – who each have 20 kilos on her – and thinking “I’m so small…

“…I guess I just have to be strong and fast!” She concluded, before bruising a few sharks, and proving that you don’t necessarily need a bigger boat in such circumstances.

“Those traits are what save me. I’m used to compensating: I played with guys in Barcelona until I was 16 or 17 – which was easy until, after one summer, they’d all grown! It’s a mindset thing: I’ll never be the biggest player on the pitch, so I just take more power into each contact, and put other people in space around me.”

It’s an eye-watering CV already, but there’s plenty left on the to-do list: an Olympics, another World Cup or two – culminating in knockout rugby – but, front and centre, “winning the Premiership. We have the opportunity to do so, and as an amazing, inspiring team.”

There are non-negotiable points on offer this Saturday, when an ailing Bristol Bears arrive in Twickenham, and you’d be forgiven for allowing the 21-year-old a few butterflies, given all that’s at stake at this, by name and by nature, Big Game.

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“The league’s improved so much – even in the time I’ve been here”, and Quins need the dub if they’re to remain jostling within what looks increasingly like a breakaway pack of six.

“Bristol don’t have anything to lose: they’re coming for us, and will want this to be their best performance of the year so far”. There’ll be the usual five-figure crowd, expecting her to repeat – if not trump – last year’s brace and series of gasp-eliciting involvements – including her parents, who’ve made the trip over specially. And then there’s her personal battle with one of the PWR’s other form centres: scything Scot, Emma Orr.

There are storylines wherever you look, but she discusses them all with warmth and composure, before confessing that last season was challenging – her profile rocketing as she found her dancing feet in a new country, environment, and language.

“I initially felt like I was the only one all the little errors were happening for, and so put a lot of time into the mental side of my game. I’ve since realised that it’s under pressure that you learn the most – and that the best way to ease that is being confident in everything you do: believing in your ability to, if nothing else, tackle, pass, and carry.

“I still have my favourite music playing in my head when I line up in that tunnel, so – now – I just have a little dance inside, relax, and trust myself to do all of those easy things. Then – all that’s left to do is enjoy, make people smile, and go make some magic.”