The Calgary Saracens senior women’s division 2 rugby team has been on quite a roll. In 2025, the club went undefeated and capped it off by beating the Edmonton Clansmen to win the provincial title. This year, the Saracens ended up with a pair of losses but still repeated as provincial champs by beating the Edmonton Pirates 64-35 in the final. Emily Hilditch says the secret is how close the players are. “We’re just so close-knit on and off the field,” said Hilditch. “I think that’s our secret weapon. Our club is known, men’s and women’s, for being more of a social club. We’re one of two for having a clubhouse in the whole city and I think that really adds to that.” Surprise success John Verrall has been coaching the women for 24 years. He’s seen the ups and downs, and he says the success the club has had over the past couple of years caught him off guard. “We’ve made the provincial finals several times in the past,” he said. “But this is coming out of COVID, and we haven’t had a winning season until last year. Then, all of a sudden, we were undefeated, which was impressive and it was unexpected for me.” Good mix Rachel Whalley has been playing off and on with the Saracens since 2016. She says the team has a good mix of younger players and veterans. She says this has been a fun ride. “It’s amazing and really great to see,” she said. “I’ve played a lot of rugby in a lot of different places, and I’ve never had this kind of success with a team before. “It’s really inspiring and I hope everyone keeps coming back so we can keep building our program.” The big question: can they make it three in a row? “A three-peat would be great,” said Whalley. “I think the main goal is just to keep people playing rugby and keep having a family to come back to and having fun together.”
