Black feeling at home with the Chiefs

By Harry Scott-Munro
12/2/21

It’s been a case of “so far so good” in the eyes of fly-half Taylor Black, as the Exeter Chiefs continue to impress in their maiden campaign in the Allianz Premier 15s.

The last fortnight has seen Black and her team-mates secure the two biggest scalps in the league,ending the unbeaten records of both Saracens and Harlequins at Sandy Park to make it four wins on the spin for Susie Appleby’s in-form side.

Black’s Canadian international team-mate McKinley Hunt scored the only try in last weekend’s 7-6 victory over Harlequins and she admits she has been grateful to have a number of her compatriots (Olivia DeMerchant and Emily Tuttosi) in the side with her to ease the challenge of settling into a new country.

“It makes a big difference to be able to connect to home and check in with each other once in a while,” she said.

With freezing conditions gripping most of the country, Black and the Chiefs have been fortunate to use Exeter College’s 3G pitch this week, something that Black is incredibly grateful for.

“The 3G pitch is great,” she continued. “It’s nice and quick for us and gives us a bit of a break on the legs from the mud as well.”

Reflecting on her time in the South West so far, Black has enjoyed her new surroundings, although she was quick to highlight the freezing temperatures!

“It’s been good. It’s a beautiful city, the sunny coast has been treating us quite well. It’s still quite cold, but at least we’re still able to play rugby all year round.”

The Chiefs backed up victory over Saracens two weeks ago with a gritty and determined performance against Harlequins last time out in a game where defences dominated. However, Black feels her side’s increased levels of performance throughout the season have more than justified their inclusion in the league.

“We’re definitely setting it (the bar) quite high,” she added. “I think we’ve definitely earnt our place. Our physicality and our defence has grown massively since the beginning of the season, so going into this week, it’s been about focusing on our attack.”

This Saturday sees the Chiefs back on the road, making the trip to Sixways to face Worcester Warriors, the side they secured their maiden league victory over in Round 4. Black is looking forward to the challenge that her side will face as they look to secure their fifth consecutive victory.

“It’s been a pretty good week of training and we’ve got a lot of key things to focus on going into the game,” she said.They (Worcester) are a very strong side, so it will be interesting to see how both sides have developed since last time we met them. That said, we’re confident in what we are doing, especially having come away from last week’s win pretty happy.”

The 20-year-old has been a mainstay in the Chiefs starting line-up throughout the season, forming a strong half-back partnership with Patricia Garcia and, more recently, Flo Robinson. Black understands the challenge of playing with a different player at scrum-half, but trusts the ability of her side’s scrum-half contingent that also includes Ffion Lewis and Meg Davies.

“All 9s play a bit differently, but they’re both so strong so I’m happy to play with either one of them. Flo is developing so quickly and earning her own place in the side.”

With Saturday afternoon’s match one of just seven regular season games remaining, Black has challenged her side to continue building momentum right the way through the season.

“We started the season just saying that we’re a new side and we want to progress and develop each game. Now we’ve seen what we’re capable of so it’s about keeping those high standards for the rest of the games this season.”