Interview with Harlequins and England Sarah Beckett

Harlequins Women and Great Britain back rower Sarah Beckett is yet another lady who is frustrated that the remaining part of the lady’s rugby season has had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

20-year-old Beckett made her international debut for England in 2018 at the age of just 18. Rugby runs in the family, as her brother Charlie currently plays for Gloucester and has also featured for England at U20 level.

I recently caught up with Sarah and started by asking her how she is getting on with the current lockdown and fitting in training.

“I’m pretty lucky really she said as I have a fellow rugby player who I train with quiet a lot together. “We are pretty lucky with the equipment that we have, we have got a bar and some gym equipment and a bike and a rower. “We are managing to keep ourselves pretty fit and strong” she added.

Beckett, started her career at Firwood Waterloo before moving on to Quins.” It’s been a fantastic move she said.” “Being surrounded by fellow professionals and people who really push you to be the best you can be is really fantastic” she added.” I think I’ve really embraced the environment and I think it’s paid dividends to my game.”

When the season was suspended before eventually being called off Saracens and Harlequins were separated at the top by just two points. Was the decision right to call a halt to the season? “I think it was probably the right decision, at the end of the day to write the league off would have been unfair to award and pay people in positions with the season not even half done and obviously it was very tight and anything could of happened with those games, but I still feel it was the right thing to happen” she said. “It’s frustrating because everything that you have worked for means nothing, but obviously the wins the points for individuals still stands, but ultimately the right decision”.

The women’s game has grown rapidly in the past few years. “It’s come down to a massive empathises on the clubs on pushing the women’s games” she said. “Quins in particular with game changer and Big Game that happened just after Christmas, I think those things are pushing the women’s game forward with more media exposure obviously helps to let more people know that it happens to see a good quality game of rugby from women as well as men” she added.

Next season, Exeter and Sale will replace Richmond and Firwood Waterloo in the Tyrell Premier 15’s, Beckett understands the reasoning for this. “I think it’s extremely sad, especially for those clubs”. She went on to say” I played since I was seven at Waterloo and I felt sad for them to go. “I think for the growth of the women’s game, I think it was probably a call that the RFU had to make, with new teams coming in we are hoping it will become a bit more of a competitive league.” She added, “They all have a massive responsibility to prove why they have been put into the league and hopefully we will have better competition between sides and I think a massive thanks need to be said to both Richmond and Firwood for driving women’s rugby forward for a long time now.”

Full interview with Sarah Beckett:
https://soundcloud.com/user-365414754/sarah-beckett-harlequins-women