Gloucester-Hartpury face a tough trip to reigning champions Saracens in the Allianz Premier 15s on Saturday.

In form second-row Gwen Crabb is relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with a traditionally physical Saracens pack.

“These are the fixtures we look forward to every year. We pride ourselves on our scrum and driving maul so we know it’s going to be a challenge - but we definitely feel confident.”

Gloucester-Hartpury dispatched Wasps 67-3 away from home last weekend and Crabb was pleased with her team's performance.

“I thought it was really good for us as a team to keep that momentum going forward; we’ve gone three from three. We’re playing the Champions this week at their home ground so it'll be good to carry our momentum into that.”

The win took Gloucester-Hartpury to three wins on the bounce in the league but Crabb isn't getting carried away with the good start to the season.

“We know it’s not going to be an easy ride. We’ve got something good building that’s been growing over the last couple of seasons, and with the new additions this year, we’re excited going forward."

Crabb scored two tries in Gloucester-Hartpury's victory over Wasps at Twyford Avenue, and is delighted to have found form immediately in the league, having only just returned from the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

“It was a tough few months leading into the Rugby World Cup and obviously getting knocked out in the quarters wasn’t what we wanted, but it’s nice to be back at the club and enjoying myself, and getting a few tries.”

The Welshwoman says that even though Gloucester-Hartpury have had a brilliant start, there's still more to come from them, including the return of a number of Red Roses that reached the Rugby World cup final.

“(The potential) Is the most exciting thing. More than anything we have a lot of competition now for jerseys and that’s only going to benefit us going forward, and to know we still have the likes of Zoe Aldcroft, Alex Matthews and Tat Heard still to come back in is hugely exciting.”

"These are the games we look forward to every year" Crabb on Sarries

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