Helena Rowland Shines on England Fullback Debut
Women's Six Nations: Aka an Ode to Helena.
For much of these past 6-7 months I was as close to a Premier 15s game each week as you are to your screen right now. I was working for Saracens and covering their women’s games - producing match reports and doing live updates of their games on their Twitter. Even after working for Saracens, I’ve become part of the content team for the Premier 15s on a freelance basis.
Week in week out, I had my eyes glued to a large contingent of the England squad as they delighted the devoted Sarries fans. The bruising carrying of Poppy Cleall and Hannah Botterman - who I’m pretty sure I’ve seen make more line breaks than any other prop in existence. Zoe Harrison and Holly Aitchison came together to form one of rugby’s finest 10-12 pairings. And Marlie Packer is just a complete machine at everything she does. Seriously. It got to a point where I deliberately held back on mentioning her in some match reports for fear of repeating myself. She just does everything; Player of the match merchant.
Working for a club naturally means what you write is skewed towards that team. I didn’t support Saracens prior to this season, but the more time you spend watching and talking to these players post-game the more attached you become - you become a fan. Yet, there was always one player that would snatch the Saracens-tinted lenses off my head and smash them in front of me each time I watched her. It was, of course, Loughborough Lightning’s dynamic fly-half Helena Rowland.
When Lightning visited the StoneX in September, Rowland, a former title-winning Saracen herself, was part of a Loughborough team that was comprehensively beaten 38-7 by a world-class Sarries outfit. When she got her hands on the ball, however, her talent was undeniable. Her footwork is sublime. Constantly looking to carve the opposition, either by slicing through a gap herself, or creating space for a teammate.
When Saracens travelled to Loughborough University in January this year, Rowland pulled out one of the most sublime individual tries I have ever seen. What I wrote in my report that day was ”Helena Rowland danced her way through the Sarries defence to score, converting her own try and stealing the momentum from Saracens.” Rather basic.
If I hadn’t been writing for Saracens, I assure you I could have easily dedicated at least three adjective-laden paragraphs to her score. One to marvel at her ability to escape the clutches of Lotte Clapp and Aitchison. The second would be full of applause for her footwork in rooting winger Rachel Laqeratabua to the spot. And the third would be to appreciate the scorching speed at which she did it all.
Rowland, 22, and Harrison, 24, have been embroiled in a ‘friendly battle’ for the fly-half position for England. If you had to compare styles, Harrison is the more conventional 10, with calmness and precision in abundance. Rigorously marshalling her backline. Whereas Rowland is the gamebreaker. Give her the ball and watch her step her way through the defence with glee. But Harrison has plenty of adventure in her game, and Rowland has plenty of control in hers.
Against Ireland in this past weekend’s round of the Six Nations, England head coach Simon Middleton decided to fit his two best young playmakers into the same side by giving Rowland the 15 jersey for the first time. Needless to say, she shone.
Just under 25 minutes into the game, the Welford Road crowd are treated to the aforementioned sublime footwork and strength in contact - a deadly pair.
Rowland catches the ball at speed and floors Irish fly-half Nicole Cronin, then giving Sene Naoupu a little step to put her off balance, which is incredible when you realise her left foot is being held by Cronin as she fools Naoupu. Rowland is essentially stationary now, she shouldn’t be making any more ground. Despite this, she sprints away from the Irish herd, covering 20 more metres before Ireland wins a penalty at the breakdown. It's an incredible combination of qualities that means she fits in perfectly at fullback, particularly in the counter-attacking role depicted in the above clip.
Rowland constantly popped up as a ball-carrying option in England’s backline. With the playmaking prowess of Harrison and Aitchison, Rowland’s sheer pace and footwork makes her a deadly choice to split open defences. Whilst the ball often didn’t end up in her hands, when it did she made damn good use of it.
Above, she gets on the outside and skins the Irish No 8 to create a 2-1 for her and Ellie Killdunne, who would no doubt have been away down the wing had she caught Rowland’s pass.
There were plenty more of these sorts of moments from Rowland. When she combined her blistering speed, power, and footwork to squeeze every metre possible out of her carries. It is the instinct that Rugby Sevens, a game centred around beating your opposite number, has fostered in her.
The clip below is a perfect example, as she speeds into the gaping hole in the Irish defence, delivering a stiff hand-off in the process and bringing play up to the Irish 22.
Her intricate footwork is on display once again in the below clip. She takes a tough pass above her head, leaping in the air to gather it. With the pass and the jump stopping her momentum, she should be ripe for the taking, but she takes half a second, then skirts past the defender with ease before offloading the ball.
However, the apex of Rowland’s performance was her try assist for Lydia Thompson’s score in the 51st minute.
As Aitchison passes to Rowland, who is turning the corner, Emily Scarratt runs an excellent line to tie in a number of Irish defenders. Rowland's participation is nothing short of outstanding. Her blistering pace and threatening run draws the attention of three Irish defenders, allowing Killdunne and Thompson plenty of room. She keeps the ball until the very last second, soaking up every blade of grass in front of her before delivering a perfectly weighted miss pass to Thompson, who finishes easily in the corner.
It may have been her first start at fullback for England. And who knows, maybe it's not a system that Middleton intends to keep. But the supreme quality that Rowland offers at 15, running superb support lines and bursting onto the ball at pace equipped with strength and a defence-splitting sidestep, makes her a perfect fit at the back.
To pick out one solitary player in this England squad who is more integral than any other is a fool's errand. The quality is so vast that Middleton can pick from at least two world class players in almost any position. But after England’s dominant conquering of Ireland, Middleton can rest easy knowing that fly-half rotation need not be an option. Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too.
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[GIF CREDIT: BBC]
Excellent article. Helena is incredibly talented. Really hope she considers linking up again with Saracens after her degree finishes at Lboro.