The new Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign burst into life as Harlequins beat Loughborough 52-42. James Bools was at the Twickenham Stoop to witness the pulsating, 14-try thriller…
From the moment you walked into Twickenham Stoop, you could feel the atmosphere. The energy. The anticipation. The excitement. After a spectacular summer, Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) was back with a bang – quite literally.
The pregame fireworks were a harbinger of things to come in Friday’s 94-point epic. Loughborough made a lightning start, determined to avenge their 22-40 humbling at the hands of Harlequins in last season’s thriller.
Within 15 minutes they already had the lead – Bo Westcombe-Evans scoring a try in the wake of a stunning run down the line from Sadia Kabeya.
Lucy Calladine forced her way over from a rolling maul in the 21st minute to further compound the home side’s misery.
But just when the Midlanders looked to be running away with it Quins hit back with two tries of their own.
Abbie Fleming crashed down following delightful interplay from the Quarters forwards, before Beth Wilcock scored an equaliser that seemed so unlikely in the early stages – intercepting a sloppy Lightning play to give herself free reign of the Stoop.
But Loughborough were not to be outdone.
Scrum-half Alicia Maude touched down on 34 minutes following wonderful work from Westcombe-Evans, to leave Quins wondering what more they had to do just to stay on level terms – let alone win.
One could’ve been forgiven for thinking that would be the end of the action in a frantic first half.
Yet unbelievably Quins notched two more of their own.
A dogged penalty try levelled matters up, before Lauren Torley put the Londoners ahead for the first time following a fine pass from World Cup star Ellie Kildunne.
Alas, their lead was short lived.
In a game that had swung back and forth like the pendulum in your grandfather’s old clock, Loughborough edged back ahead through a Kabeya try on the cusp of half time. 28-26 to the Leicestershire side at the break in what must already be a match of the season contender.
Unsurprisingly the second half picked up where the first left off – but this time, Loughborough were the victims of a fast start.
From the moment Quins lined up for the lineout near the Lightning end, the result was inevitable – and Nicole Whyte duly delivered.
Loughborough almost hit back instantly, but in a strange turn of events a try wasn’t scored. Lagi Tuima defended valiantly to ensure the Quarters somehow remained ahead.
And then, finally, Quins they got what they desperately craved – daylight.
After a lull which lasted all of ten minutes, Claudia Peña – in her birthday week no less – stormed through a mass of Lightning defenders to notch a try of her own. 40-28 ahead, job done.
Or so the home side thought. Just when it appeared the match was settling down ex-Loughborough Sara Svoboda was sinbinned, and Lightning instantly took advantage.
In the rolling maul that followed Kathryn Treder swept over the line to reduce the deficit to five points, and have Quins looking nervously over their shoulders once again.
But if the Midlands outfit assumed they were clawing their way back into the game their hopes were dashed via a Jade Konkel-shaped storm.
After Loughborough made a hash brown of their lineout, the firefighter bombed across the line to leave the Midlands side with egg on their face.
Once again though the Quarters couldn’t hold on to their two try advantage.
Following an offload, Lightning youngster Amelia Williams demonstrated the speed and stamina of a Roman chariot horse to leave the Quins defences in ruins with a sensational solo try.
Just when the away fans started to wonder if their team could mount a glorious comeback, substitute Hannah Sims finally made the game safe for Quins in the dying embers.
The score? 52-42, and with a minute remaining it was too big a lead for even this spirited Loughborough side to overturn.
And so we had 14 tries, 13 different scorers, and an all-time classic that will live long in the memories of the more than 3,000 who were privileged enough to witness it.
This wasn’t Grown Ups, this was the Godfather. And if it sets the tone for the new PWR season, then what a campaign we have in store.
All images courtesy of James Bools
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