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Harlequins down Saracens to be crowned Allianz Premier XVs champs

By RugbyPass
Rachael Burford lifts the trophy after her teams victory in the Harlequins Women v Saracens Women Allianz Premier 15s Final at Kingsholm Stadium on May 30, 2021 in Gloucester, England. (Photo by Naomi Baker - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images,)

Harlequins have been crowned the new Allianz Premier XVs champions after defeating Saracens 25 – 17 in a thrilling final at Kingsholm Stadium.

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Harlequins came bursting out of the blocks, and instantly found themselves dominating territory and possession.

After a number of promising breaks, it was a penalty from infront of the sticks that gave Quins their first points of the afternoon from the boot of centre Lagi Tuima.

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Another three points came shortly after, with a Harlequins raid into the 22 giving Tuima the opportunity to slot the ball through the sticks again.

Quins didn’t relent on their early pressure and after Tuima’s boot had pinned Saracens into the corner, the trademark driving maul was set up and hooker Amy Cokayne touched down for the first try of the game, with the conversion being edged wide.

In an almost carbon copy of the first try, it was Cokayne at the back of a driving maul that gave Harlequins’ their second score, and a 16 point lead.

Determined to fight back, Saracens replied almost instantly with a spilled ball in the 22 allowing them to gain possession and build the phases, with Marlie Packer barging over from short range and Zoe Harrison adding the extras.

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Harlequins hit back however, with Tuima quickly slotting a penalty to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Despite a Saracens lineout deep inside the 22, Harlequins defence caused havoc and forced Saracens to spill their ball, and clear it to hear the half-time whistle.

Both sides kept the intensity up after the break but it was Quins who managed to extend their lead, with Tuima’s boot once again finding the target.

Saracens, determined to find their way back into the game, secured territory inside the 22 and after finding their mark at the lineout built the phases to allow Packer over for her second of the game, with the conversion edging wide, narrowing Quins’ lead to 5.

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With a sniff of a comeback Saracens threw everything at the Harlequins defence, camping deep inside the 22.

After Cokayne was sent to the bin for a deliberate knock on, with lock Abbie Ward following shortly after, Quins found themselves defending their slender lead with 13 players, but continued to repel the Saracens attack.

Determined to keep their grip on the lead, some spirited work from the forwards kept Harlequins inside the Saracens half, and when a penalty was given out on the touchline, Tuima slotted a brilliant penalty to put her side eight points ahead.

Saracens continued to throw everything at the Quins defence, but despite a mammoth effort they could not break through.

As the clock went red, Harlequins kicked the ball dead to secure the Allianz Premier 15s trophy.

Match report: Harlequins

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M
Mzilikazi 5 minutes ago
How England reverse-engineered unlikely attacking change

Thanks, Nick, not only for this fine article, but for all the others during 6N 2024. I really enjoyed this 2024 tournament, and felt it was one of the best for many years. That final match in Lyons was really good. England were certainly unlucky when that speculative hack by Ramos lead to a French try. It could just so easily have landed in English hand.s, and they score at the other end. I did think though that the French played some great rugby, and some of their driving play in the forwards was just fearsome. I watched Meafou with interest, and he has a good start to his career. It is interesting to compare him with Will Skelton. Lot of similarities, though so far Meafou has not shown any offloading threat. All credit to Borthwick for being prepared to change, and what great result, even if that last game was lost at the death. I feel they are a real chance to cause the AB’s problems this winter/summer. Finally a comment on Ireland. I thought their last game was their worst, and they did not look like the world’s No 2 side at all. What really worries me is that the loss to England was, in my view, down to poor decision making by the coaching group, and ofc Andy Farrell wears that. It was a big mistake to move JGP away from scrum half. Murray should have been the one to go to the wing. And the “finishers” should have been on the field earlier. And this is the second time this has happened. The RWC Qf against the AB’s, and not getting Crowley onto the field was a huge mistake. Finally, finally, watching Italy play was a joy. How wonderful that they are no longer the punchbag of the 6 N.

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