Exeter Chiefs Women v Sale Sharks Women

Exeter Chiefs Women racked up eight tries in front of a record crowd for the season to claim their play-off place against Saracens next weekend.

However, Chiefs did not get the start they wanted for today’s game against Sale Sharks Women as the visitors’ captain and flanker Georgie Perris-Redding went over from close range after sustained pressure on the try-line. Full-back Lizzie Duffy stepped up to take the conversion, and Chiefs were 0-7 down after seven minutes played.

The home side levelled the score 10 minutes later when cente Alex Tessier was on the end of kick from Sale. She took the ball infield before it crossed the backline and found the hands of prop Hope Rogers who barrelled through several defenders before sending it back to the other wing via centre Nancy McGillivray for Claudia Moloney-MacDonald to score. Tessier took the extras to make it 7-7.

It looked like Moloney-MacDonald would get a second just minutes later as she intercepted a Sale pass in Chiefs 22 but just ran out of steam as she got into Sale’s.

A flurry of penalties from Sale saw Chiefs advance to the five-metre line for a lineout. The catch-and-drive built up a head of steam to successfully send over hooker Emily Tuttosi for a try on her final home game for the club. Tessier stepped up for the conversion to give Chiefs a 14-7 lead.

Frustratingly, the same set of circumstances led to a reply from Sale, scored by their hooker Ali Cokayne. Duffy found the uprights with the conversion though, so Chiefs retained a two-point lead.

They recovered the seven-point difference as the first half edged to a close when a Sale knock-on gave Chiefs the scrum on the visitors’ five-metre line. No 8 DaLeaka Menin got to work from the back of the scrum, with some help from lock Dorothy Wall and flanker Maisy Allen, before USA prop Hope Rogers powered over to take the spoils.

Moloney-MacDonald by winning the footrace against two Sale players to gather her own kick. It teetered on the touchline, but referee deemed it a score.

Moloney-MacDonald went over for her hat-trick try just minutes into the second half after a quick-tap from Flo Robinson in Sale's 22. The ball was passed across the line for full-back Merryn Elworthy to straighten up with the Red Roses winger just waiting to eat up the final metres.

Scrum-half Robinson then scored on her 100th game with a little snipe off the back of the ruck giving Tessier an easier place to kick from this time around.

Replacements started to come onto the field around the 55-minute mark to inject fresh legs and lungs into the game, but Sale were also starting to leak multiple penalties. A yellow card for Rhona Lloyd followed and Chiefs used their penalty restart to send over Rogers for her second.

Lloyds’ absence was compounded when Danielle Preece and Katie Buchanan combined down the right wing to create space for Moloney-MacDonald to scamper in and score her fourth try of the afternoon.

Sale were not done though. A classic catch-and-drive from the visitors saw No 8 Brittany Hogan over the line before Lloyd found the space and the pace to score Sale's fourth try under the posts.

With the score at 50-24, Chiefs were gunning for another try and it looked like Moloney-MacDonald was going to be the one to take it when she chipped the ball ahead, but it just slipped through her fingers as she gathered it…so she opted for a roly-poly over the line instead!

Not to be greedy, Chiefs were content with their eight tries – 17 from the last two games – in front of a record crowd for the 2025/26 season and a place in the play-offs next weekend to boot.