In a week that has seen numerous top tier rugby games (andsports in general) postponed or cancelled due to coronavirus contingency planningit’s a delight to know we’ll still be able to watch England strut their stuffin Twickenham on Saturday. Yes, the men will be running out at the stadium, butI’ll be across the road to watch the Red Roses face Wales at the Stoop. With 6 HarlequinsWomen players in the starting 15 we caught up with one of their number, EmilyScott to preview the weekend.
The Stoop is familiar ground for Scott, whether it’s in thequartered jersey or, as she reminds me, wearing the rose, she has played thereplenty of times and considers it home turf. Harlequins ground has played hostto England Women for some years now and putting the game on at lunchtimeahead of a late afternoon kick off for the men seems a shrewd move by the RFU,something Emily recognises too. “Hopefully this is going to be one of ourhighest attendances, which should play into our hands”!
“We always know it will be a tough game” Emily says as talkturns to her opponents on Saturday. “They’re a passionate bunch and we knowthey’ll bring that intensity, so we need to match them, especially at the startof the game. It’s a good rivalry, and hopefully it will be a good encounter!”
For England, Scott is clearly seen as a full back, battlingit out with Saracens Sarah McKenna for the 15 shirt, whilst her club games for Harlequinsnormally see her further forward, playing from 10. It’s one of the hallmarks ofSimon Middleton’s England side that players are well versed in multiplepositions, offering flexibility and ensuring excellent core skills. Emilyclearly sees the value in it. “I tend to play fly-half at Harlequins, which I’mreally enjoying. Coming into England, it’s just about being able to adapt myskills and use them to make the best of it in the full-back role. I’m learningmy craft there at the moment, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s great to havethat competition with McKenna because that pushes us both to get better!”
The hard work is certainly paying off, with Scott starting forthe second time in the tournament, while Sarah McKenna takes a berth on the wing.“I was delighted to get the start for the Scotland game” she tells me, pride evidentin her voice, “Hopefully I’ll go out there and back myself up with aperformance! I think the conditions will be slightly different to howthey were in Scotland! That might give us more of an opportunity as a backthree to get some running rugby in and see what we can do!”
That attitude is reflected throughout the squad, every gameis a new opportunity, and for Emily that’s reflected by the amount of changesthe coaches have made while still putting out an incredibly strong team. “Ithink it shows the versatility in our squad. We’re all talented players, we’reall got skills, being able to use them across different positions and beingable to adapt to them what we’re about, really. It’s always a benefit to beable to cover different positions, so I think it’s good that they’ve been ableto utilise us in that way.”
We couldn’t talk without mentioning the postponed game inItaly next week, the icing on the cake of a confusing tournament that has seenplayers dealing with storms, moving venues and then games being postponed. Emilyseems to take it all in her stride, crediting the team and especially thesupport and back room staff who allow the players to focus on doing what theydo best and going out on the field without too many worries.
The chat moves toward the impending return of TyrrellsPremier 15s, as Emily’s Harlequins look to take back their top spot in the table.“I really enjoy playing my club rugby, especially at Harlequins. We’ve beengoing well so far. Obviously it was a really tough encounter when Saracens camedown to the Stoop a couple of months ago, a great game of rugby. That’s the standardthat we want to set across the Tyrrells. Last season was my first season at Harlequins,and obviously we got into the Premiership final… Then to kind of miss out, rightat the end was really difficult. We’ve got quite a lot of games to go throughyet but, you know, if we can get through the semi-final and get into final againit would be fantastic!”
The return to club rugby also means returning to playingalongside women she’s lined up against for the past few weeks. “That’s one ofthe best things about rugby, isn’t it? You give your all for 80 minutes on thepitch, you have a real battle against each other, and then you come off thefield and you have that real camaraderie, go back to your clubs and playtogether again!”
We couldn’t agree more!
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