Spain captain Claudia Pena signs new Harlequins deal after standout PWR season

Claudia Pena has signed a new contract with Harlequins, the Premiership Women’s Rugby club confirmed, keeping the Spain captain at the Twickenham Stoop ahead of the 2026/27 season. The 21-year-old has been with the London club for two seasons and was nominated for PWR Player of the Year at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Pena has already accumulated 31 caps for Spain and captained Las Leonas at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 before leading her country to the 2026 Women’s Rugby Europe Championship. This season she contributed 47 points for Harlequins, including three tries, as the club narrowly missed out on a top-four finish.

“Harlequins is like a family,” Pena said. “We have support from the staff, the squad and the amazing amount of people who support us in England and around the world. It’s an amazing feeling and I believe we are going to do great things with that support we have. Next year is going to be another year of improvement and I’m excited for people coming to see us play.”

The retention is a significant boost for head coach Ross Chisholm, whose side endured a difficult 2025/26 campaign and failed to reach the semi-finals after a stronger previous season. Pena’s continued presence will be especially important following the departure of Ellie Kildunne from the club.

Chisholm was emphatic in his praise for the young back. “Claudia is a player who has consistently impressed in her first two seasons at Harlequins,” he said. “She has shown her ability both in attack and defence and become a key player in our backline. This season, she has been hugely impressive, and I believe that she can still take her game to another level, which is hugely exciting. For such a young player, she is incredibly composed in everything she does, and I’m thrilled that she will be remaining in the Quarters.”