Premier 15s: 'All dynasties eventually wash away. In Devon, a new power is rising.'
History teaches us that no empire lasts forever. The Akkadians were replaced by the Assyrians who were themselves replaced by the Babylonians. Next came the Persians, then the Macedonians, then the Romans. Like undulating waves that rise and crash, all dynasties eventually wash away.
A similar narrative is unfolding in the Premier 15s. Since its launch in 2017, the top tier of women’s club rugby in England, almost certainly the most elite domestic product anywhere in the women’s game, has been dominated by Saracens.
In the first season the women in black from Barnet edged out Harlequins in the final after topping the league table. They repeated the trick a year later with an even greater margin of victory.
A lapse in 2021 after a covid-enforced break saw them lose their crown to their cross-town rivals in the showpiece match, but normal business was resumed last year when they won 18 of their 20 matches including a 43-21 drubbing of Exeter Chiefs in the title decider.
But all empires reach a high water mark as those under their yoke soon grow tired of subjugation. And out to the west in Devon, where the Chiefs call home, a new power is rising.
After 14 rounds of this current campaign the upstarts are top of the pile with 13 wins and only one defeat. Just a point behind is Gloucester-Hartpury, another ambitious force.
After an eight week break, the Premier 15s league resumes this weekend with the biggest ticket in town being Saracens v Exeter at the StoneX Stadium in north London on Sunday afternoon.
Cut adrift in unfamiliar territory Saracens are currently third in the table, a full ten points behind their visitors.
Is this a sign that their reign has come to an end? And if so, has this caused panic through the camp like it’s the last days of Rome? Not so according to Saracens’ director of rugby, Alex Austerberry.
“It’s exciting,” he says with a broad smile. “We’re not the ones being chased, we’re doing the chasing. Obviously we want to be top of the league but it’s a unique challenge for us. But wherever we are in the league, a game at home against Exeter would be one that we would be relishing anyway.”
Saracens have played their would-be usurpers twice already this season. Both were away and both ended in defeat. In January Exeter ran in six tries in a thumping 37-19 win. And on the same day the Red Roses secured a Six Nations Grand Slam triumph, a young Chiefs side lifted the Allianz Cup after beating Saracens 29-19 at Sandy Park.
“It’s not just another game,” explains Saracen’s captain, Marlie Packer, who is well rested after a break following her glorious day at Twickenham in national colours. “We’re not usually in this situation. We want to make sure we get back up the league and get the result we want from it.
“It’s really exciting,” she adds, referring to the burgeoning friction between the two groups. “We’ve got this massive rivalry. You know it’s going to be a battle out there. The physicality, the way both teams play, you know you have to be at your best. And that is what we want. We don’t want it to be only two or three games a season. We want the whole league to be like that. Rivalry will always be there between some clubs.”
Packer, an integral cog in the Saracens machine and an all-important ball carrier, has highlighted her personal dual with Maisy Allen in the back row. There are world class matchups across the park with over nine nationalities represented in the starting XVs.
Saracens have a smattering of foreign talent but Exeter’s is a truly cosmopolitan outfit with four Americans, two Canadians, two Irish and a player each from the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Wales, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand taking the field on Sunday. Austerberry cites this as a reason behind his rival’s recent success.
“You’ve got a lot of players from across the globe and Susie [Appleby, his opposite number] has done a great job of knitting them together. They’ve been competitive from the off which you’d expect. They’ve got a talented squad. It’s great to have competition because that forces you to be better.
“It gets [the media] going and gets the fans going. Ultimately, as competitive beasts, it gets us going. We want to be on the big stages and battling it out. That’s when you find out about yourself and those are the games that define you as a team. We want to be on the biggest stages competing as often as we can.”
Packer is indifferent to the composition of her opponents. “It doesn’t matter who we face or what nationality they’re from,” she says. “Any given day, we play any team, we have the attitude to go out and win.”
They’ll need to do just that. Consecutive defeats in December, when much of the squad had yet to return after the World Cup, has meant they’ve been playing catch up ever since. They’re comfortably ahead of Bristol in fourth but will want to secure a home semi-final by virtue of a top two finish.
“Home advantage is big,” says Austerberry. “You get that noise. It has an impact on players and hopefully some of the 50/50 decisions might just get a little bit in your favour with that crowd. You’re in your house. You’re comfortable. You know the wind direction and the parameters of the pitch. So hopefully it gives you that small little edge.
“The biggest thing for me is the crowd. It really is like a wall of noise. Even as a coach it gets the hair on the back of your neck standing up. It gives you real energy and a lift and will help us to potentially get a home semi final.”
The mark of truly great empires isn’t found in their ability to conquer new lands, but in their durability when confronted by external foes. Rome could absorb the catastrophic losses at Cannae or the Teutoburg Forest and pick up the fight another day.
Saracens have tasted defeat and can hear the clattering of shields over the horizon. Their hold on power is under threat. How they respond will determine their place in rugby history.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
20 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
8 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
20 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
8 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
20 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
20 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
20 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
2 Go to comments