Champions Saracens gear up for ‘The Duel’ with Harlequins

Saracens Director of Rugby Alex Austerberry expressed that Saturday’s crucial Allianz Premier 15s clash with London rivals Harlequins isn’t just another game as the teams look to keep within touching distance of the top two.

Both sides enter ‘The Duel’ showdown level on points, with Saracens in third and Harlequins in fourth as they currently sit 13 points adrift of league-leaders Gloucester–Hartpury with just eight games left to play.

Having lost to Harlequins earlier in the season, reigning champions Saracens are determined to exact revenge and Austerberry made sure not to soften the enormity of Saturday’s contest.

He said: “I wouldn’t downplay it to that extent that it’s just another game of rugby, it’s a really meaningful game.

“It’s not a knockout game of rugby but the intensity and the outcome makes it almost like a quarter-final.

“The rivalry might not be that old but it’s certainly ferocious and it tends to be on the biggest of stages and this weekend is no different.”

For their earlier fixture in December, World Cup duties prevented a multitude of stars featuring from both sides, but that won’t be the case this weekend as the StoneX will be littered with England internationals, all looking to stake their claim for the upcoming Six Nations.

Saracens co-captain Marlie Packer, who has 74 international caps and was part of England’s World Cup winning squad in 2014, also expressed the magnitude of the contest.

She said: “It’s a massive day for the club and for every player that’s part of the club.

“These games don’t come around that often and when they do, they are a big occasion and all eyes are on this weekend.

“For me as a player you play in all these big games but the only thing that really matters after 80 minutes is that you come out on top and that’s what I want to make sure happens this weekend.”

Saracens are all too familiar with the threats that Harlequins pose as the sides have squared off three times in previous Premier 15s finals, with Harlequins coming out on top in their most recent final matchup in 2021.

Austerberry is wary of the damage Harlequins can cause and stated that his side will have to gain parity up front in order to give themselves the best chance of winning.

He said: “There’s a reason why they’re a high-quality side, you look throughout the team there’s people that can create special moments and that’s where you hope players within our side can stop that or can limit the damage that happens in those moments.

“Rugby’s not a difficult game, you’ve got to do the fundamentals well but you can’t afford to be on the back foot so we’ve got to be sure that we’re real physical and we dominate the collisions where we can.

“When we are at our best it’s when we’re winning the gain line whether that’s with ball in hand or not.”

Packer added: “I don’t think we look at any of them individually and think they’re a threat, as a whole, 1-23 they’re a threat but if we make sure we do what we do at our best then actually we don’t need to worry about them.”

You can watch Saracens vs Harlequins live tomorrow from 13:45 on BBC iPlayer.

Written by Cam Stephens

Saracens: Breach, Grant, Gregson, McKenna, Clapp (cc), Harrison, Wywras; Montiel, Campbell, Clifford, McIntosh, McMillan, Evans, Packer (cc), Cleall.

Substitutes: Rettie, Gooding, Ellis, Jacobs, Kasolo, Moore, Infante, Wardle.

Harlequins: Scott (cc), Auken, Tuima, Blacklock, Dow, McKenzie, Packer; Sims, Cokayne (cc), Edwards, Galligan, Bonar, Mew, Chancellor, Robinson

Substitutes: Dobson, Cooper, Duffy, Leaney, Brooks, Swords, Green, Amory

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