Appleby salutes squad effort
By Harry Scott-Munro
27/2/21
Exeter Chiefs Women’s Head Coach Susie Appleby was “really pleased” with the performance of her side as they made it six wins on the spin in the Allianz Premier 15s, recording a 76-5 demolition of DMP Durham Sharks at Sandy Park.
Winger Louise Burgess – on her league start for the club – led the way, scoring four of their 12 tries, alongside doubles from Merryn Doidge and Rachel Johnson and scores from Kate Zackary, Niamh Terry, Taylor Black and Gabby Cantorna, who also added eight conversions from the tee for a personal haul of 21 points.
Speaking at full-time, Appleby was pleased with how her side stuck to what she had asked of them ahead of kick-off.
“I asked them to be clinical and for the first half we predominantly were,” she said. “I’m also really pleased for individuals; someone like Lou Burgess has bided her time and she got her opportunity and she took her tries really well, as well as those two players that haven’t been involved in the squad before (Gabby Gower and Olivia Churcher) they got on the field as well so there’s firsts for everyone today and that’s really nice for everyone.”
Today’s performance was a consummate attacking display with Appleby delighted with the “confidence” that her side can take from their performance.
“Our attacking layers worked well today and now we’ll have more faith and belief in those decisions there,” she added. “We also brought some more defensive intensity that had been missing against Worcester, so those things we’ll take forward.”
With a number of players missing from club action due to injury and international call-ups, Appleby’s squad depth has been tested in recent weeks. However, she was delighted with the impact that those who have recently come into the side made, feeling that the more exposure to this level that her young players can get, the more confident they will become.
“Kayleigh Armstrong went through the middle with a carry, Meg Davies had a little dart and put Gabby Gower in, so there’s little bits of stuff they’ve now felt and next time they get on the field, they’ll bring more of it.
“The challenge is that the performance doesn’t change, and it lifts when they come off the bench. I don’t think that necessarily happened, we got a bit lost at times but the fact that they are one there is key.”
With just five rounds of the season to go, the Chiefs remain in contention at the top of the table, knowing that the challenges will continue to come, starting next week with a huge test away at an in-form Wasps side, who themselves beat Saracens on Saturday afternoon.
Appleby knows that “each game is massive now” but accepts that there is only so much that her side can control.
She continued: “We focus on next week and control what we can and then the other results could either go in our favour or not in our favour. There’s only so much we affect, and we really intend to do that. We’ll take a look at Wasps, see what they are bringing on the field and then we’ll get ready.”