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One half of the Cleall twins to leave Saracens
By Kim Ekin
Bryony Cleall, twin sister of England forward Poppy, is one of five players to leave Saracens, the club have confirmed.
The 29-year-old prop has also represented England, where she has won four since first being named in the national side in 2019.
Cleall, Eloise Hayward, Kay Searcy, Georgie Lingham and Molly Morrissey have all departed the north London club for "new opportunities".
In a statement, the club said that they "would like to place on record their gratitude for some fantastic contributions in the Black and Red shirt."
"With well over 100 appearances between the five players, they leave with plenty of experience and have been part of some memorable moments in recent years, including the back-to-back Premier 15s titles in 2018 and 2019.
Head Coach Alex Austerberry wishes them all well for the future. “Everyone of those players was a committed Saracen and contributed on and off the field. I wish them well on behalf of the Saracens family.”
Elsewhere Lotte Clap has agreed on new terms with the club. The England and England Sevens Player is a prolific try-scorer, and her ability to convert an opportunity has been crucial for club and country.
A leader on and off the pitch, Clapp made her debut for the club back in 2014 and has captained her side to two Premier 15s titles.
“I’m looking forward to spending another year at the club, there’s already been some exciting changes so hoping for another big season!”
Head Coach Alex Austerberry said of Clapp: “Lotte is the epitome of Saracens. She has an unbelievable work-rate and cares deeply about the club and the people here. Her character manifests in the way she plays and the way she has leads. Added to all that she is a consistently high performer who makes a huge impact on both sides of the ball.”
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Latest Comments
Cane shouldn’t have been one last year, based purely on performances. Lakai is as close to a like for like of swap of Savea you’re ever likely to find, based on his short career so far at least. He has many of the same qualities - very strong ball carrier, great at the breakdown, and an absolute work horse on defence. I feel like he and Sititi could lead the way in the loose at the next WC.
I think we have become obsessed with replacing Kaino with someone exactly like him. Kaino was a perfect foil for the other loose forwards we had at the time. Based on the talent we have around at the moment those players could be made up in the aggregate by three players who are all exception all rounders - Lakai, Sititi, and Savea. Missing some height for sure but Sititi’s defensive work in the line out last year was phenomenal. He gets off the ground so quickly and was able to steal a couple of balls off the top of the springbok line out.
If our young locks coming through can actually stay fit long enough to get selected, it seems inevitable that Va’ai could end up in a hybrid 6/lock role.
Go to commentsWas strange game, full of errors and the usual refereeing decisions. Both teams suffered as a result but Ospreys discipline was a major factor. I think this weekend will be different as the Ospreys will pick a full strength team but Scarlets will gain confidence in the fact that only Tipuric was missing in the forwards and they dominated that pack for the whole 80 minutes. If they can repeat that dominance at scrum and breakdown then the Scarlets backs will always have more to offer on the front foot.
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