Round 6 of the women’s English Premiership wrapped up to end 2023, Round 7 is slated for this weekend. Saracens remained top of the standings and Sophie de Goede again made the team of the week, this time playing blindside flanker.
You know the future looks bright when a third of the players in the Team of the Week in the top professional league are Canadians. The Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby competition in England is the top professional league for women’s rugby and Canadians are representing well. The Team of the Week for Round 5 included 5 Canadians, Emily Tuttosi (Exeter) at hooker, Daleaka Menin (Exeter) at tighthead prop, Sophie de Goede (Saracens) at #8, Alex Tessier (Exeter) at #10 and Paige Farries (Saracens) on the wing. Saracens and Exeter are top of the table as well.
Abby Duguid #4 and Daleaka Menin #3 were part of the Loughborough team that knocked off former table leaders Harlequins. Loughborough move up to second place with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs.
It was the four Canadians for Exeter vs the lone Canadian for Saracens so it was perhaps in the cards that Exeter would end the Saracens winning streak that went back to 2018. Starting for Exeter were loosehead prop Olivia DeMerchant, hooker Emily Tuttosi, 2nd row Mckinley Hunt and #10 Taylor Black. Starting for Sarries was #8 Sophie de Goede.
A reader sent the following article in from the Saracens website. Mackenzie Carson won the George Jones Scholarship in 2017 and the John Cannon Memorial Award in 2018, both funds are administered by the Canadian Rugby Foundation.
There were at least 8 Canadian women in action in the English Premier. Four players on the Exeter Chiefs including Emily Tuttosi who scored a try in Exeter’s first win of the season. Sophie de Goede came off the bench for Saracens in their win. Paige Farries had her debut for Worcester and two more Canadians suited up for Loughborough (Holtkamp, Svoboda) in their loss to Harlequins.
The Allianz Premier 15 league kicked off last weekend. There are 10 teams in the league, a number of them familiar to followers of the men’s English Premiership: Exeter, Harlequins, Sale, Worcester, Saracens, Bristol and Wasps. There’s also Loughborough, Gloucester-Hartpury and Darlington Mowden Park (DMP).