Saracens Women


Saracens Women are an English women's rugby union club based in Hendon, London. They were established in 1989, and currently play in Premiership Women's Rugby and the PWR Cup, the top-level competitions of women's rugby in the country.
Saracens are one of the most successful women's teams in English domestic rugby union history. They have earned a total of 15 top-flight league titles – most recently in the 2021–22 season. In top-tier domestic cup competitions, they have won an additional 11 titles – most recently in the Premiership Women's Rugby#PWR Cup|2025–26 season].
The team also serves as the women's branch of Saracens Amateurs RFC, who themselves are affiliated to men's Premiership club Saracens.

History

Saracens Women were originally founded in 1989 by a group of nine players – which included England women's national [rugby union team|England] internationals Emma Mitchell, Janis Ross and Sam Robson, and Wales internationals Amanda Bennett and Liza Burgess – who had identified a need for another women's rugby club in north London. The founding members gained approval to establish the team, after agreeing to assist with the commercial operations of the Saracens men's team, who had just been promoted into the top flight for the 1989–90 season. In their debut season, they won the second division and achieved promotion to the Women's Premiership for the 1990–91 season. The team then claimed their first silverware at the national sevens tournament in 1990, and earned a total of 17 trophies over the ensuing decade, including domestic trebles in 1993 and 1998.
Upon entering the new millennium, Saracens Women were crowned Premiership champions in 2000, before new coaching staff were appointed in 2001, headed by former Saracens men's player Lee Adamson and club co-founder Amanda Bennett. Adamson held both coaching and administrative positions at Saracens, until he departed in 2007 to coach the Scotland women's national rugby union team. The team won the league again in 2002, under the captaincy of England international Claire Frost, and then achieved a sequence of four consecutive titles between 2006 and 2009. Throughout those four years, Saracens remained unbeaten in the competition – a feat not achieved before or since at the top level of English women's rugby. Prominent players during this period included England's most capped hooker Amy Garnett and flanker Maggie Alphonsi, who played her entire career at Saracens and was later named a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to rugby.
Off the back of this dominant spell, Saracens Women went five years without silverware, recording three second-place finishes in the league. In 2014, Rob Cain was installed as head coach, and the club proceeded to achieve a league and cup double in 2015. Cain continued as head coach through to the launch of the Premier 15s, after which he left to take the helm of the United States women's national rugby union team in 2018. Saracens secured the 2017–18 Premier 15s title, following a season notable for the breakthrough of a new generation of future England internationals who graduated through the club's academy pathway via Welwyn RFC, including prop Hannah Botterman, fly-half Zoe Harrison, centre Helena Rowland and scrum-half Ella Wyrwas.
Led by new head coach Alex Austerberry and captain Lotte Clapp, Saracens Women cemented themselves as the dominant team in the Premier 15s, which operated as the highest level of women's domestic rugby union competition in England between 2017 and 2023, until it was rebranded as Premiership Women's Rugby. During this period, the club won the title in 2018, 2019 and 2022, while also achieving five consecutive first-place finishes in the regular season league tables. In September 2019, Saracens also announced that it would double its financial investment in the women's team, in addition to increasing alignment with the resources attached to the men's squad.
Until 2014, Saracens Women played their home games at Bramley Sports Ground in Enfield, London, and occasionally at Vicarage Road – the home of Watford FC – when the Saracens men, to whom they are affiliated, moved there in 1997. Subsequently, they reached an agreement to play home matches at the men's home ground, StoneX Stadium, in Hendon. This ground continues to be their home ground for Premiership Women's Rugby fixtures. Starting in 2026, Saracens Women would also play one game per season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as part of The Showdown.
Historically, the club has held rivalries with fellow London sides Richmond and Wasps. In more recent years, their main rivals have been Harlequins, with the two teams contesting three consecutive Premier 15s finals between 2018 and 2021. Since the 2020–21 season, they have competed in an annual showpiece match, known as The London Derby. This fixture is notable for holding the attendance record for a Saracens women's home game, drawing a crowd of 3,733 supporters on 2 November 2025.

Club honours

Saracens Women

Senior squad

The Saracens Women senior squad for the 2025–26 season is:
Note: Players listed in bold have received at least one senior international test cap.

Academy squad

The Saracens Women academy squad for the 2025–26 season is:

Club staff

The current Saracens senior management and coaching staff, as of the 2025–26 season, is as follows:
RoleName

Notable former coaches

The following former Saracens Women coaches have gone on to serve in high-profile positions at international level, or at other top-tier clubs in the women's or men's game:
The Saracens playing kit is currently supplied by British sportswear manufacturer Castore, as of the beginning of the 2021–22 season. The club's principal partner and primary shirt sponsor is American financial services company StoneX. The replica kit featured the logo of the Saracens Foundation, a charity operated by the club and £5 of proceeds from each jersey are donated to the foundation.

Recent kit designs

The following graphics represent the designs of the Saracens playing kit between 2006 and 2017:

Summary of kit manufacturers and sponsors

The following organisations have manufactured and sponsored the Saracens playing kit since the 1996–97 season:
SeasonManufacturerPrincipal sponsor
1996–1997

Notable players

Rugby World Cup

The following players have been selected to represent their national teams at the Rugby World Cup while at Saracens:
TournamentHost nationNumber selected playersOther national team players
1991 [Women's Rugby World Cup|1991]1991 [Women's Rugby World Cup squads|5]Emma Mitchell,
Jane Mitchell,
Janis Ross
Amanda Bennett,
Liza Burgess ruw|Scotland

Club captains

The following players have held the position of Saracens Women club captain since it was established in 1989:
The following Saracens Women players, past and present, have represented their respective national test or sevens teams during their rugby union career:

England">England women's national rugby union team">England

Premiership Finals

The following graphics show the starting line-ups for Saracens in all six of the club's Premiership Women's Rugby Final appearances:
Denotes that the team ended the final as league champions
Denotes that the team ended the final as league runners-up

2016 Women's Premiership Final Starting XV


2018 Tyrrells Premier 15s Final Starting XV


2019 Tyrrells Premier 15s Final Starting XV


2021 Allianz Premier 15s Final Starting XV


2022 Allianz Premier 15s Final Starting XV


2025 Premiership Women's Rugby Final Starting XV

PWR Cup Finals

The following graphics show the starting line-ups for Saracens in all three of the club's PWR Cup Final appearances:
Denotes that the team ended the final as cup champions
Denotes that the team ended the final as cup runners-up

2023 Allianz Cup Final Starting XV


2024 Allianz Cup Final Starting XV


2025 PWR Cup Final Starting XV

Personnel honours and records

World Rugby Awards

The following Saracens players have earned recognition at the World Rugby Awards :
Player Name of the player and number of times that they had been nominated for the award at that point

YearNominatedWinner
2006

Six Nations Championship Awards

The following players have been named in the Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship or Team of the Championship shortlists while at Saracens:
YearNominatedWinner
Women's Six Nations Championship|2021]

Premiership Women's Rugby Awards

The following Saracens players have been named in the annual Premiership Women's Rugby awards:
Player Name of the player and number of times that they had been nominated for the award at that point
§Denotes that the club was also the winner of the Premiership Women's Rugby competition during the same season
Denotes that the club was also the runner-up of the Premiership Women's Rugby competition during the same season

SeasonMonthWinnerPosition
2020–21Novemberdouble dagger

Top scorers

The following lists denote the top try scorers and top point scorers for Saracens in recent Women's Premiership and Premiership Women's Rugby seasons:
SeasonPlayerPositionTries
2016–17sup|§

Industry awards

Rugby Players' Association Awards

The following Saracens players have achieved recognition at the annual RPA Awards:
YearNomineeWinner
2019

Rugby Black List Awards

The following Saracens players have earned recognition at the annual Rugby Black List Awards, which launched in 2023:
YearNomineeWinner
2024

End-of-season club awards

The following Saracens players have earned recognition at the club's annual Big Bash end-of-season awards:

Women's Premiership era

SeasonPlayers' Player of the SeasonYoung Player of the SeasonBest Newcomer of the SeasonCaptain's Player of the Season
2015–16

Premier 15s / Premiership Women's Rugby era

Player of the Month

The following players have been named the Saracens Player of the Month :

Season summaries

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated