DARLINGTON MOWDEN PARK SHARKS host Sale Sharks at the Darlington Arena this afternoon in their final game of the Allianz Premier 15s season.

The season-ending showdown holds extra significance for Mark Luffman’s side, with the Sharks dropping down into the Championship for the 2023-24 season.

“Obviously, it’s a little bittersweet for us,” said Luffman. “This will be the last game for this group of players and the last game of AP15s in the North East for the foreseeable future.

“There will be a lot of emotion about on Saturday but our aim, as it is every week, is to go out and give a good representation of who we are as a group and to hopefully make our sponsors and supporters proud of our efforts.”

The Sharks have endured a tough season in the top tier of women’s rugby, but two wins over Wasps have highlighted their improvement over recent months. January saw the addition of a host of USA and Scotland internationals to bolster the Mowden squad, with two wins in February showcasing their impact on the group.

“I think we have made big strides over the course of the season,” said Luffman. “We have a small squad and sometimes injury availability has been challenging, but we have been really competitive for periods of each game this year.

“The addition of the international players has given us a big lift and their knowledge, attitude, application and energy in training and games has been great.

“The standard of the league is going up season on season, there are many more full-time professional players in each team which obviously increases the physicality and skill level and so each game is a real challenge.”

Recent improvements would have seemed far-fetched ten months ago when the Sharks were crowd-funding to secure their place in the league.

With the support of the local community and key sponsors, the North-East’s only elite women’s side have been able to complete their sixth season in the top-flight.

“To be blunt about it, without the donors and sponsors we simply wouldn’t be here,” said Luffman. “It has enabled us to continue to have AP15s in the North-East for another year and show players there is a pathway from club rugby through to the Red Roses.”

Luffman has made three changes for today’s game. USA international Kathryn Treder, Rachel Ehrecke, Olivia Ortiz, Meya Bizer and Tess Feury all start, with Scottish caps Evie Tonkin and Elis Martin also featuring in the squad.

* Today’s game kicks-off at 2pm, and tickets are available on the day priced £5 for adults and free for Under-16s. NHS workers can also enjoy free entry as part of the club’s Thank You NHS weekend at the Darlington Arena.