Big Game 16: Spectacular world record breaking match played – Sutton & Croydon Guardian

On the 28th of December, Big Game took place in the Allianz Stadium for the 16th instalment.

The atmosphere was bustling with fans from both teams, shouting their chants with enthusiasm throughout the length of both games.

The matches were between the Leicester Tigers and the Harlequins for both the men’s and woman’s teams.

A world record was set, and that is for the most number of people in the stadium for a woman’s game, on the planet!

The scorers of the women’s match were for the Harlequins were, Ellie Kildunne, Claudia Peña, Lagi Tuima, Lisa Neumann, Kayleigh Powell, Connie Powell and Carys Phillips.

For the Leicester Tigers, the scorers were, Emily Henrich, Megan Jones and Keia Mae Sagapolu Sanele.

At halftime, the score was 27 – 7 to the Harlequins, leaving some fans of opposing teams to partake in a bit of halftime badinage.

However, by the end of the match the score had settled at 42 – 17, leaving the Leicester Tigers at 8th on the table and pulling the Harlequins up to 1st on the Premiership Women’s table.

Opening Ceremony for Men’s Match of Big Game 16 (Image: Bhairavi Shivakumaran)

For the men’s match, England’s number 9, Danny Care, played fantastically having done every, single Big Game, with this unfortunately being his last.

The scorers for the Harlequins were, Jack Walker, Cadan Murley, Luke Northmore and Marcus Smith.

For the Leicester Tigers, the scorers were Ollie Hassel-Collins, Solomone Kata, Freddie Steward, Dan Cole and Handré Pollard.

Marcus Smith and Handré Pollard performed especially well, scoring 4 conversions and 2 penalties.

Harlequins fan, Zoe Hughes, exclaimed,

“Marcus Smith was amazing, he was on fire today, he really put his all into this match. He went for every try possible and stayed resilient throughout the entire game!”

In the men’s league, at halftime the score was 21 – 20, leaving fans on the edge of their seat.

After 80 minutes of great performance, the result came as a tie at 34 – 34, disappointing some fans.

Therefore, the Leicester Tigers, are now at 5th and the Harlequins are at 7th on the Gallagher English Premiership table.

Nevertheless, both teams put up a spectacular fight!