Sarah Parry press conference | Trailfinders Women (H)

Harlequins Women's Centre Sarah Parry spoke to the media ahead of Friday's PWR Round 15 fixture against Trailfinders Women.

She discussed a range of topics including:

• Her assessment of Harlequins' recent form.
• Her international ambitions.
• What she remembers from last time Quins played Trailfinders.
• The importance of playing the Quins way.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Um, I asked a question to Ross, so I'm gonna ask a similar question of you. How do you rate where Quinn's are at? What's the Quinn's story at the minute from your perspective?

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Uh, I think from my point of view, just disappointed on the performance that we're putting out. Like, we're not gonna shy away that we've just not been good enough over these past few games, but like, regardless of that, we just want to go in to this game, 100% commitment, play the Quinn's way, and just really enjoy ourselves.

SPEAKER_04 0:24

What does it mean you've been doing if it hasn't been that?

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Uh, I think we sometimes like the pressure can get to us. I think for me personally, like this league has been so good this season, it's been really close, like, which is what we want. Um, so I think we're just trying to not like shy away from it, but just try and look at us, how can we be better and how can we be that brave, entertain in a physical way.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

And when you talk about that pressure, then is that sort of the pressure to execute every time? Is it sort of is it going after stuff with a sense of urgency and and you need to be calmer? Is it is it something else?

SPEAKER_00 1:02

I think like just not even focusing on that. Like you can get so surrounded by outside noise, what the table's looking like, all that, just not even like almost bothering at that and just going, we're here to play rugby, regardless of the table, we want to play the best we can.

SPEAKER_04 1:19

And who do you think in the team is uh is running particularly well alongside you at the minute?

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Uh Kant Shaway from Claudia Pena in the centre. I really enjoyed playing with her this season, been really fun. I think Ella Cromack has been fantastic at 10. Like her kicking game is unreal, and like the likes of Ifa and Lee joining us as well this season has been class. Like they are that physical player that we won in the team. So like you can't you can look across 23, even more than 23, the whole players in our squad that we train against, and they're just like phenomenal athletes and players.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

And am I right that Lee is here just until the end of March? Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Uh yes, yes, it is.

SPEAKER_04 1:58

Yeah, okay. Um any suggestion from her? Like, you know, come on, girls, get this club to the place it needs to be before I'm out of here.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Absolutely, like very key of her, straight to the point, tells us what to think. So, yeah, she's pretty good in that sense.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Love that. Um, just to go back to Claudia, um, I feel like I have to say every time I call a game that you two I think played together once last season, yet this season you're making it look like a partnership of old. Um, she looks like someone that it's incredibly fun to give the ball to and go go and do what you do.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

Yeah, absolutely. I think you look up at the defensive line, you see probably two, three people in front of her who thought, well, I can still give her the ball, and she'd probably give it a good go and probably beat them. So it just becomes really easy to play with, and like just the athlete, the player, the person she is, it's just really fun.

SPEAKER_04 2:49

Is there much of a language barrier? Are you are you both fairly fairly able to communicate to what you need to do?

SPEAKER_00 2:55

She yeah, no, she's pretty good. I wouldn't be able to give her anything in Spanish, I don't think. So I think I'd be better on that part, but yeah, no language barrier at all. I think like she sees the game so well, so you almost know with her body language what she's thinking and what she's wanting, which is really nice.

SPEAKER_04 3:10

Nice. And uh, and what is it you think you two as a pair are are doing well? Where do you think those areas of improvement between the two of you have really have really grown?

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Like, a connection is such a big part, like just trying to understand what different players want. I think from my point of view, like I'm a very physical player, like that's what I enjoy the most, but she loves that space, which I think the difference between the two, I think we work together quite well.

SPEAKER_04 3:34

And uh obviously there's a women's six nations campaign coming round the corner. Have you you had conversations with John Mitchell? Is are you are you hoping to be in the mix and playing a part?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

I'm definitely hoping to like be a part of that, like not shying away, like I want to play in that Six Nations, I want to make my debut. Um, but so he's just sent me a few things of things to work on, so I'm not 100% sure of selection quite yet.

SPEAKER_04 4:00

Yeah, absolutely. Well, we know the squad's coming out at the end of the week, so I'm not gonna uh draw you into that, but uh but yeah, appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 4:08

Helen, do you want to jump on next? Conscious you might have to jump off onto that 2.30 call as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Absolutely, I have got to. Ray, nice to meet you. Um I was talking to um Tatiana Heard um on Sunday, and she picked you out as the young Red Roses player to watch. She said, big future ahead of you. Oh, that's very nice of her. I know, I know, I know. I think she is quite a nice person, actually. And what would it mean for you if you did get a pick for the squad?

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Oh, I just smiling, even like even thinking about the opportunity of it. Like, I think it mean a lot. Like, I want to be the best player that I can be, and to be in that environment, to learn off the likes of Tatiana Heard. We played against her the other week and she had a phenomenal game. So just to learn off her, like train with her, play against her, like stuff like that, that's just only makes you a better player.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

And the second one, which sorry, it's gonna be Six Nations again. But what's your what's your um first memory of the Six Nations watching it?

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Oh, that's a great question. I always remember watching the it with my dad. So I think like going to the games there at the Principality, so um always remember that. But then just in general of the women's sport, just going to watch a game. I remember going over to uh World Cup in Ireland in 2017, um, when Bet Wales beat Ireland. So to go over there, see what it meant to the fans for me personally. So yeah, just really brilliant.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Thanks very much. Thank you. Thanks very much and good luck on Friday. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Andy, do you want to round it off? Yeah, sure. Um Zara, I was just wondering about, you know, uh, given the way you guys played against um Bristol at Twickenham, um, I thought you were so, so brilliant that day. Can you put your finger on why things have not quite clicked in in quite the same way the last few weeks?

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Yeah, I think at times we go off the game plan that we've set for that certain games, and it just becomes really hard then to claw back games when we're 10, 20 points down. Um so I think it's just really going back to what we know that we're good at as a Queens team and just performing. Like the we know that we can do it, like you said, the the big game, like that was a phenomenal performance, and it's just something that we want to try and strive and be better at.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

And I'm always a bit reluctant to ask this because I never quite remember the team sheets. But when you uh had the away game against Trailfinders, um, were you involved in that and what are your memories of that game? Because uh it was a bit of a classic.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah, um, yeah, so I was a part of that um very close game, which is always fun to be a part of. Like I love those sort of games where you know both teams are really close and we're just trying to get that win out of it. Um I think like at the end of it, just like loved it because we won just in that last bit. So I just remember it being really fun.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

And are you looking forward to the I I um Ross was very adamant that you don't really want to look at the table and the permutations, but are you looking forward to the kind of the challenge over these last few rounds of the season just to sort of, you know, the obviously there is a bit of pressure there with the teams around you.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Uh I think I'm just excited just to play the games like the big challenges, but it's just like at the moment, just one game at a time. How can we really put all our focus on this healing game and then what's to come is just what's to come.