Rosie Galligan’s assessment of the PWR season so far

Can you believe we are already into round eight of the PWR? There has been some spectacular rugby played with unpredictable results with the league hotting up as we head towards the Christmas break.

The first heartbreak in the league would have been for Gloucester in week three where their winning spell was broken by Exeter Chiefs at home. This same week Saracens had a big win away to Bristol with some incredible team tries resulting in a 24-41 victory.

Having just returned from WXV I watched this game from home. I thought Saracens played an exciting style of rugby keeping the ball alive, whilst utilising their forward pack to move them forward. I thought Millie David had a stormer for Bristol and is definitely one to keep an eye on this season.

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With Gloucester’s ego dented, we knew that they were going to bring their A-game to Stone X Stadium for round four. With all internationals back on club duty, this game had two full teams of internationals from number one to number 23. It was physical, it was skilful and the better team on the day came out on top.

Zoe Harrison managed the game well for the women in black and the forwards all did their individual jobs well. It was a day to remember for the club as we said goodbye to Saracens legend Leanne Infante on her 100th Cap. A day she will reminisce on for years to come I’m sure.

The Harlequins vs Loughborough lightning fixture wasn’t the best of games to watch but the ending made up for it. Who better than Ellie Kildunne to come along and score the winning try?

Starting on her own try line, Ellie used her famous goose step to get on the outside of Emily Scarratt, before dummying her way past the winger and sitting down their fullback. The game finished 22-19 and the Stoop was in full song come the final whistle.

Round five saw Sale Sharks give Gloucester-Hartpury a good game. Sale are a team based on work ethic and pride. They will give their all for 80 minutes and play for one another. They have signed some quality players this season and are starting to really gel as a unit.

 

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For Saracens, round five was tough. It’s always hard to go to Sandy Park, but it’s made harder when you don’t turn up on the day. We were off the pace – we missed breakdowns, we didn’t execute when we needed to and we let ourselves down. Sometimes you need these games to regroup and grow and that’s what we’ll do.

Round six saw some very one-sided results, with Leicester Tigers being beaten 62-7 by Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks travelling home on a losing run. The one positive for Tigers was that they saw the return of Meg Jones following an ankle injury. Meg is a huge player and a vital asset for Leicester so to have her back in the mix for the rest of the season will be huge for them.

Harlequins are on the rise as they head into round eight in second place following a 15-14 win against Saracens at Stone X. As a Saracens player it was a tough one to take. The game had huge shifts in momentum and Harlequins took advantage of our individual mistakes.

We had plenty of opportunities to score and played multiple phases going forward, to then lose the ball in key areas. A frustrating day at the office but it has opened up some honest conversations as to what we want to achieve and be known as this season. It’s given us a bit of fire in our bellies to start to fulfil our potential as we are capable of so much more.

 

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Unfortunately due to a head injury I received on the weekend I won’t be participating in Round nine against Loughborough. But I’m excited to help out in a coaching capacity this week and help the girls best prepare for the game.

Loughborough are an attacking team that like to play expansive rugby. They have kicking threats across their backline as well as powerful ball carriers in their pack. After a tough two weeks, we are ready to train hard, learn from our mistakes and finish on a positive note this weekend.

Make sure you get down to StoneX Stadium on Saturday to watch Saracens take on Loughborough. There’s a player meet and greet at 13:00 before the game kicks off at 14:00. Tickets are available here.