LAGI Tuima wants Harlequins to surge past Wasps in next week's semi-final and avoid a repeat of their close encounter earlier this season which was decided by her right boot.
The England centre struck a penalty two minutes from time to claim a 20-19 victory for Harlequins but hopes it doesn't come to that in next week's Premier 15s final as fans are welcomed to the Stoop.
“At the time I was pointing to the corner and some of the forwards came into the huddle saying ‘let's just tap-and-go' but our captain Abbie Ward said ‘no, we will go for the posts',” Tuima recalled of the match at Surrey Sports Park.
“She was the most calm out of all of us and at the end of the day she was the captain, so I told her I will do whatever she decides. And she was unchanged and said ‘yes, we are going posts'.
“As a kicker those are the moments you train for and we could have gone for the corner, but that decision gave me a lot of confidence to end that match with the winning kick going into the next few games. All in all, we were all happy that score went our way and we would like to make sure it isn't as close as that in the semi-final.”
Seeking a maiden Premier 15s title, Harlequins will face the winner of Saracens and Loughborough Lightning should they get the better of Wasps.
But first they must get past a Wasps team led by Giselle Mather who trailed only Saracens in the highest number of points scored in the Premier 15s.
“They are quality players and we are doing our homework on them and are fixated on how we can cause them problems,” said 8-cap Tuima. “We need to keep them quiet for the majority of the game but we all only focussed on ourselves and working on what we can offer – that is what it has been about all season and shown in previous games.
“I am sure they are thinking the same and we are just looking to outmatch them on the day.”
Buoyed by holding the best defensive record in the league, Harlequins have experienced few bumps in the road under the guidance of head coach Gerard Mullen in his first year in charge.
“He has built on what Streety (Gary Street) already had here,” Tuima added.
As a whole this season has gone really well for us and that has definitely shown with our defensive work. We play some exciting stuff in attack so we have a good balance of both.
“From a personal perspective, it has been some of the best rugby that I have played since being injured. It has been happy days so far and we just need to focus on next week now.
“The league is now at a point where you can't call which way it will go and it is what elite sport is about, there are no guarantees.”
■ Tickets for Harlequins v Wasps are available to buy now at quins.co.uk
