A week on from taking Bristol Bears unbeaten record and rocketing to the top of the table, Saracens lost theirs as they were beaten 36-17 in ‘The Duel’ with arch-rivals Harlequins at the StoneX Stadium.
In a repeat of last season’s final, which Harlequins won, the visitors romped to a bonus-point victory that took the shine off Evans’ big day.
“The girls made me feel very special before the game, but we let ourselves down a bit in the match. It wasn’t the result we wanted,” said Evans.
“Quins is always a hard game and, even though we were confident after beating Bristol, we couldn’t pull it off again.”
Defeat knocked Saracens off the top of the table as the day before Bristol pulled out all the stops to win 14-12 at Worcester Warriors thanks to a 77th touchline conversion of a driving line-out try by Amber Reed.
The battling Warriors hit the front with a superb try from Wales back row star Alex Callender, who picked up at the base of a ruck and sped over in the corner. The home side led12-7 at the break, but then lost another Welsh cap, Sioned Harries, to a red card in the 53rd minute.
The experienced Harries, who had been at the heart of a rousing forward effort by the Warriors, was dismissed for a dangerous tackle. To make matters even worse, Lyndsey O’Donnell picked up a yellow card at the death which meant the Warriors had to defend the line-out from which the winning try came with only 13 players.
Gloucester-Hartpury picked up an excellent 10-8 win at Exeter Chiefs, while Wasps beat DMP Durham Sharks 70-0 on home soil. Loughborough Lightning were 27-0 winners over Sale Sharks.
