If fans had been told at the start of the day to predict which Canada international would be the star of the Premiership Women’s Rugby London derby, most would have picked out Sophie de Goede. The versatile world player of the year is in incredible form, after her starring role in Canada’s run to the Rugby World Cup final just over a month ago, but she did not have the chance to live up to those hypothetical expectations as she failed a fitness test a few hours before kick-off.
Such is the Canadian presence at Saracens, though, that another Canuck stood out, with the wing Alysha Corrigan at the heart of the north London club winning 47-10 against Harlequins in this fierce rivalry in front of a record 3,733 spectators.
Corrigan produced not only two skilful tries but she was also able to beat several defenders throughout the encounter and had defensive prowess which marked her out at a sunny but cold StoneX Stadium. Canadian flair was on display throughout, with Olivia Apps also an electric presence and Laetitia Royer impressing on her debut.
A World Cup-winning Red Rose in Ellie Kildunne was bestowed with the biggest cheers when on the ball though, despite playing away from home. As she competed in her 50th Harlequins game, supporters didn’t need eyes on the pitch to know she was in full attacking flight, with the noise from fans deafening as soon as the England icon made a break. She rewarded supporters by topping off her milestone game with a try and cheers of “Ellie, Ellie, Ellie” were heard after she crashed over.
Another layer to this occasion happened off of the pitch. A queue was formed for a hair-plaiting station pre-match and the first 30 customers received a bow signed by the Sarries and Wales back‑row Georgia Evans. The 28-year-old is known for wearing pink bows in her hair during matches, which was seen when she came on in the second half, but was sent abuse during the World Cup for doing so. She released a statement at the time saying she would not be changing her look and there was a showing of support from fans at Saracens’ first home Premiership Women’s Rugby game of the season with a large number of the fans sporting the accessory.
It was a record attendance for a Saracens women’s regular‑season game and hundreds, including the Saracens men’s head coach, Mark McCall, were present an hour and a half before kick-off. The milestone was more evidence of the World Cup impact adding to the impressive opening‑round statistics, a 183% increase in attendance from round one of last season.
“It’s massive,” Corrigan said of the attendance. “I think coming off the back of the World Cup you can see people want to come out and support women’s rugby and cheer us on. It’s pretty special and cool. Today there were 24 World Cup players in this game so if that’s not reason alone to come out to a PWR game I don’t know what is.”
Fans sang along as “if you are what you say you are, a superstar” boomed over the speakers, Lupe Fiasco’s lyric summing up perfectly this star-studded London derby.
Saracens were utterly dominant, with three tries in 10 minutes from Corrigan, Kelsey Clifford and Jemma-Jo Linkins. Eventually Quins were singing the same tune with a score from Katie Shillaker. A yellow card for Poppy Cleall followed after repeated penalties but the hosts were next to score through Royer.
A slick pass from Marlie Packer, the player of the match, to Corrigan for her second try opened the second half and while more tries were exchanged it was Saracens who came away with a huge win.
The victory was Saracens’ first of the league season but – and forgive this cliche – the real winner this season has been so far, and will continue to be, women’s rugby. The World Cup wave continues and its current is carrying more and more fans to the sport.
