Harlequins in 'good spot' ahead of the return of World Cup stars

Harlequins head coach Ross Chisholm believes his PWR Cup squad’s performances will put pressure on the club’s returning international stars.

After this Saturday’s final, which will be contested against Saracens at StoneX Stadium, the West London side will see 14 players return after their exploits at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

This will include homecomings for Red Roses duo Lucy Packer and Ellie Kildunne, who were major players in England’s third World Cup title.

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Without the undoubted quality which that pair of world champions possess Harlequins have fared well in Premiership Women’s Rugby’s Cup competition.

Youngsters like Sarah Parry have been allowed to thrive, Ella Cromack has pulled the strings at fly-half and senior players in the form of Lagi Tuima, Connie Powell, Emma Swords and Sara Svoboda have provided their years of knowhow to the cause.

“Some players have really put their hands up and are playing some really great rugby,” Chisholm said.

“Some internationals coming back into the building can look at it and go, ‘if I’m not performing well, there’s a 19-year-old putting pressure on me’ and that’s a really great space to be and it’s great.

“Great to see a load coming back in and adding some different energy and different perspectives and actually something that we can draw on.

“It’s never easy reintroducing 15 players or however many we’ve got two weeks before a Premiership season starts, but I am really confident that the group that has played in this Cup has set a really strong foundation.”

It has now been four seasons since Harlequins last tasted domestic success.

Then it was a squad led by Rachael Burford that tasted success, but since then only a smattering of semi-finals have greeted a squad blessed with an abundance of talent.

A win against a Saracens side, who also want to break their own trophy duck in the league, could be the perfect start to the 2025/26 season.

With the PWR Final due to be played at the Twickenham Stoop next June, there could be a real sense of home should Quins battle their way all the way to the last two.

Still with two weekends before the new league season starts, Chisholm for one is not getting ahead of himself, with this weekend the only thing on his mind.

“It’s knockout rugby and this is what this game is, it is completely different to league matches,” Chisholm said.

“The league is a marathon, and the knockouts is a sprint. The mentality required is different.

“It’s something you speak about, but at the same time we don’t need to change who we are, we don’t need to change what we are doing in the approach to the game.

“There’s going to naturally be that little more pressure for the group to go out there, that doesn’t have a lot of internationals in it, to learn that level of rugby.

“At the semi-final that was what was so impressive. There was something on the line that wasn’t just league points.

“That for me is another really great opportunity at the weekend. We’ve got to win some silverware and also keep building on what we’ve been doing.”