Appleby frustrated after Sarries loss
By Harry Scott-Munro
20/3/21
Exeter Chiefs Women’s head coach, Susie Appleby, was left frustrated after seeing her side end their seven-game winning run in the Allianz Premier 15s with a 34-21 defeat away to Saracens Women at the StoneX Stadium.
A brace of tries from American back-row Rachel Johnson and another from Japanese prop Sachiko Kato, all converted by Gabby Cantorna, saw the Chiefs open up a 21-10 lead at the break, before momentum swung in favour of the hosts, with three second half tries turning the tide.
After trailing 10-0 early on to the reigning champions, Appleby’s side rallied to take control of the match at the break and the head coach was pleased with how her side fronted up in the first 35 minutes of play.
“There was probably 25 minutes in the first half where we were really dominant,” she said. “We were moving the ball really well, clearing the rucks well and getting some fast ball. That enabled us to play. Second-half inaccuracies let us down and let them back in and they’re a good side at the end of the day.”
Despite disappointment at the final result, Appleby was quick to credit the opposition for how they rallied, whilst also praising the match as another brilliant advert for the women’s game.
“They (Saracens) all do their individual jobs very well,” she added. “They don’t panic, they stick to what they know. They didn’t play an exciting game, but Zoe (Harrison) was kicking exceptionally well and kicking us around the field, waiting for an error or a penalty. They picked their lines and scored a couple of tries. It’s not rocket-science, but it’s rugby and it’s momentum.
“Today was another great game of women’s rugby and that is the most important thing. Today for the neutral must have been quite absorbing.”
Despite the obvious disappointment, Appleby still saw plenty of positives for her side, especially with some of the individual performances across the field, with special praise for Kate Zackary, who performed superbly out of position at outside centre.
“Flo Robinson has been off with England and did really well. She showed a bit of class out there today. Pat (Garcia) moved to 10 and settled right in there and Kate was imperious at 13 and looked right at home, as we expected she would be.
“There were also some outstanding performances up front. Ebony Jefferies was breaking the line for a laugh. There were some great carries from the likes of Olivia DeMerchant and the rest of the forwards were working really hard.”
After Saracens had slotted an early second half penalty, the Chiefs looked to have found the perfect response, as the hammered the Saracens try-line, only to concede a penalty at the breakdown. It was a moment that in retrospect, swung momentum in the match but Appleby still sees it as a crucial learning point for her side.
“We attacked the line there for a while and then gave up a penalty,” explained Appleby. “If we’d scored there, momentum would’ve been with us and we would’ve pulled comfortably clear. However, it swung and we just started compounding errors.
“That momentum, we have to understand as a side how to keep moving forward in games and how to keep that sustained pressure on. Whether that be running, kicking, passing, it’s about imposing our physicality which we did really well when they came to us. It’s all little lessons and piecing things together.”
Throughout the second half, the Chiefs struggled to regain any sort of a foothold in the match with inaccuracies creeping into the performance.
Appleby continued: “We lost momentum and we never quite found it back in the second-half. We had glimpses, but inaccuracy just let us down.”
Next week will see the Chiefs face third-place Loughborough Lightning at Sandy Park and Appleby is expecting another tough encounter against a strong side.
“They have class written all over their squad,” she continued. “We were frustrated up there. They’re going to be hurting, we’re going to be hurting, but we patch ourselves up, look at some little adjustments we need to make, and welcome them to Sandy Park and put on another good performance. Next week we’ll want more of the same, but a bit more accuracy and, hopefully, we’ll collet some points.”