Bradley relishes win over champions

By Harry Scott-Munro
22/9/21

Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Brooke Bradley was full of praise for her side, after they stole a march on reigning Allianz Premier 15s champions Harlequins to secure a 24-14 bonus-point victory at the Twickenham Stoop.

An unconverted McKinley Hunt try in response to Fi Fletcher’s converted first half score left the match finely poised, before further scores from Linde van der Velden, Laura Sheehan and Rachel Johnson, two of which were converted by Flo Robinson, put the Chiefs out of reach.

Amelia Harper grabbed a consolation score for the hosts late on, but the Chiefs were already home and dry by that point, securing all five points against one of their arch rivals.

Reflecting on the performance, Bradley – a summer signing from Worcester Warriors – admitted that her side had been aiming to “up the tempo” to then capitalise on opportunities behind the Harlequins defence, something they did to great effect.

“Our main aim for today was to up the tempo and win the collisions,” she said. “That’s what we did and from there, we were able to find spaces and get behind them. I think we did really well.”

Without regular kicker Gabby Cantorna, the young trio of Merryn Doidge, Flo Robinson and Bradley herself had to step up, with Robinson hitting her mark from the tee, alongside an incredibly composed kicking performance from Bradley and Doidge.

“Obviously, we had Gabby out, who is our main kicker, so Flo, Merryn and myself had to really step up, which I think we did on the pitch,” explained Bradley. “It was really fun. Having Flo on my outside, with her normally playing scrum-half, it allowed us to get into our shape really well and execute things perfectly.”

After a disappointing start against Bristol Bears, the physicality of the Chiefs side has gone through the roof in the last two weeks, with Bradley honest enough to admit that the added motivation of playing against the champions helped her side reach another level.

“We just weren’t very connected against Bristol and I don’t think we had our heads in it,” continued Bradley. “But the last couple of weeks, we’ve had Sale and pushed on from there. Then knowing that we needed to push on further. I think that motivation of playing last year’s champions in Quins, really pushed us to that next level.”

Johnson’s late score, created from a pinpoint kick from Bradley secured a crucial bonus-point, with Bradley keen to highlight the emphasis that Susie Appleby has placed on securing those extra points this season.

“Susie has spoken about the need for us to get bonus points and wins whenever we can and that’s what we’ve done today against a top-class team. It will make a massive difference in the league.”

This Chiefs will look to continue to build on this impressive performance, when they return back to Sandy Park to take on Wasps in a fortnight’s time.