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Harlequins Women put down Toulon-esque marker
It has been a busy summer at Harlequins, with the likes of Stephan Lewies, Martin Landajo and Vereniki Goneva all making their way to the Stoop for the coming season.
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For all the firepower the men’s side have recruited, though, it could well be Harlequins Women that has done the better businesses, raiding teams home and abroad for some of best and most promising players in the game.
Having made it to the final of the Tyrrells Premier 15s in the competition’s first two seasons, only to fall short to Saracens in both of those matches, Harlequins have pushed hard this summer to close the gap on their London rivals.
The first signing announced by the club was Giada Franco. The Italian openside is set to join the likes of Jade Konkel in the Harlequins back row and the Italian and Scottish internationals are capable of forming one of the most dynamic loose forward pairings in the competition.
Franco was key to Italy’s best ever Six Nations finish of second earlier this year, as she helped her side with impressive performances in the victories over Scotland, Ireland and France.
✍ And the new signings just keep on coming!
🃏 Welcome to Harlequins Women, @SEBeckett!
📲 Read the full story here: https://t.co/6bpDynIjEk #COYQ pic.twitter.com/bww1tgvstR
— Harlequins Women 🃏 (@HarlequinsWomen) July 31, 2019
Next up on the club’s shopping list was Amy Cokayne, the England hooker who is returning to the sport after taking a year away to complete her RAF training in 2018. Prior to that absence, Cokayne had proven herself to be one of the most destructive ball-carriers in the women’s game and is now set to compete with Irish international Leah Lyons and Davinia Catlin for the starting berth at the club.
Harlequins also snapped up Sarah Beckett from Firwood Waterloo following the 20-year-old’s breakout season with the England national team in 2018/19. Another powerful ball-carrier to complement Franco and Cokayne, Beckett’s transition from age-grade to senior rugby has been seamless over the past season and she will add yet further options to Quins’ enviable stock of loose forwards.
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The club doubled down on exciting young English talent, too, bringing in Lagi Tuima from Bristol Bears for the 2019/20 season. Tuima made her debut for England back in 2017, although injuries have prevented her from adding to the five international caps she currently has. Comfortable at centre and full-back, Tuima could star alongside Rachel Burford in Quins’ midfield, or link up with Jess Breach in the back three.
🃏 We are excited to announce that we will play @RichmondFC1861 at The Twickenham Stoop to kick-off our 2019/20 @Premier15s campaign on Saturday 21st September (kick-off: 14:00).
📲 Read the full story here: https://t.co/RZrrUJuq2i #COYQ pic.twitter.com/nayRjAEzAF
— Harlequins Women 🃏 (@HarlequinsWomen) August 15, 2019
One factor that could keep Tuima in the midfield is the addition of Scottish international full-back Chloé Rollie, with the versatile back joining from Lille. Rollie’s versatility is no surprise, with the 30-capped back having previously played for Scotland Sevens alongside her commitments in XVs. A berth on the wing could materialise should Quins opt to use Emily Scott at 15, with the group’s interchangeability something that is sure to help them over the course of the season.
The club’s final signing was Ireland international Anna Caplice, who arrives from Munster. The flanker further stocks Quins’ back row and between herself, Beckett, Franco and Konkel, as well as Shaunagh Brown, if the England international isn’t being used in the front row, the club now boasts a dazzling array of international talent in their back row.
It has been a summer of recruitment reminiscent of those that Toulon enjoyed in the men’s game six or seven years ago where there was no end to the number of star names signed. Harlequins Women have now put down a marker in their bid to catch and overhaul Saracens in the Premier 15s, as well as showcasing the growing professional nature of the women’s game.
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Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments