Saracens Women Awarded Win

The Allianz Premier 15s Disputes Committee has awarded Saracens Women a win in their game against Harlequins Women.

The committee made the interim decision to postpone the round eight fixture between Harlequins Women and Saracens Women [originally scheduled to be played on Saturday 2 January] until the next available weekend, after a Harlequins player tested positive for COVID-19 and the need to isolate 28 players in accordance with the contact tracing protocols.

Further to the Committee’s interim decision, an investigation was conducted to understand the reasons for the need to isolate such a large number of individuals. It was established that the club accepted it had breached the agreed Minimum Operating Standards that require that outdoor training sessions must be recorded to assist with the required contact tracing protocols.

The Minimum Operating Standards have been put in place to ensure that the health and wellbeing of all and by not filming their contact training sessions there was a requirement to isolate so many people.

The Committee considered the facts from the investigation, representations from the club, relevant regulations and supporting documentation and concluded that the match will be cancelled and the result deemed to be won by Saracens [0-0] with five league points allocated to Saracens Women, with the decision subject to appeal.

The rearranged match was due to be played on Saturday, 20 February.