Bishop announces Exeter Chiefs Women’s cup captains for 2026/27

Exeter Chiefs Women head coach Oli Bishop has named a captain and two vice-captains for the duration of the JAECOO Next Gen Cup.

Emily Robinson will lead the women through a second campaign while there are new vice-captains in place, centurion full-back Merryn Elworthy and Black Ferns prop Amy Rule.

Bishop said: “The three leaders we decided to pick are based on the work they have done for us in the past. They hugely represent the club on and off the pitch.

“They definitely want to grow our team and are huge in our team-first attitude. With a young group going into this cup campaign, we will be relying on their experience and the work they have done previously to lead us through the campaign.”

This will be Robinson’s second season in the captain’s role for the cup period.

She said: “I’m really excited to be captain again. It’s the biggest privilege of my rugby career. We’ve got a great group, so I am absolutely loving it.

“I try to be the team-mate I would want. I try to put the group first. Sometimes that means I need to be flexible and get other people’s opinions but also use the other experts we have around. We have so many good leaders already in the team, so I certainly don’t see myself as the frontrunner.”

Elworthy is one of the original players who played in the first game for Exeter Chiefs Women in 2020 and has now played 116 games for the club. She juggles her job as a sports scholarship & recruitment officer for the University of Exeter with her playing career.

She said: “I get to do it [the vice-captain’s role] with Emily Robinson, one of my best mates, and a really good friend of mine, Amy Rule. We’ll be going in together and hopefully we will have a nice cup run and get loads of new people on the pitch and get good results.

Heading into her second season after a relatively late start to rugby is Rule. She was slightly surprised to get the call-up for the vice-captain’s role.

Rule said: “I am really excited. It was definitely unexpected when I got the phone call, but I am just excited for the opportunity. I am excited for the cup and just to play with the girls and get back into it.

“I hope I do justice for the girls. I’m not the biggest speaker; I will speak when I need to speak. I am hoping to lead through actions and what I do on and off the field.

“I missed the cup last season, so I am excited to get fully back into the swing of things with training. I just love to play footie so a few extra games isn’t going to be too bad, is it?”

Exeter Chiefs Women kick-off their JAECOO Next Gen Cup against Leicester Tigers Women on Saturday, 27 September. Tickets are available here.

The JAECOO Next Gen Cup is a chance for younger players to step up while the internationals are playing in the WXV Global Series and the Challenger iteration. Robinson is excited to see what Chiefs’ young guns can achieve.

She said: “We are really lucky with our pathway. We have seen some of these young players before for BUCS and college and now having them in the environment and seeing how well they are doing is really exciting. It’s going to be really exciting to see them flourish in the cup.”