Chiefs Women to face Gloucester-Hartpury
By Harry Scott-Munro
7/5/21
After a “rollercoaster” debut Allianz Premier 15s season that has certainly been one to remember, Exeter Chiefs Women's head coach Susie Appleby wants her side to make sure they “go out on a high” as they take on Gloucester-Hartpury at Sandy Park tomorrow. (6pm)
It seems fitting that the final round of the season sees the Chiefs come up against their first-ever league opponents, as their debut season finally comes full circle.
Although the top four is now tantalisingly out of reach for Appleby’s side, tomorrow's encounter with Appleby's former club will see both sides - who are separated by just three points in the current standings - battle for a 5th place finish in the league.
A victory against the visitors would mean that Appleby’s side would have beaten every team in the league in their inaugural season, their form post-Christmas seeing them go unbeaten until the end of March, and catapulting them into the mix at the sharp end of the table.
Reflecting on that form, Appleby admits that once her squad had time to gel, she was confident that they would make the rest of the league sit up and take notice.
“I was confident that after Christmas, once we’d had those few months together, we would see real improvement and we showed it on the field,” she said. “We’ve beaten Saracens, we’ve beaten Quins and all those top four sides. They are really respecting us for who we are now and what we’re putting on the field. That’s what we wanted to achieve.”
It has been a slightly disjointed end to the season with this Round 18 fixture just the second time in six weeks that both sides will have played after the rearrangement of the 2021 Women’s Six Nations.
Last time out at Sale Sharks, Appleby’s side were left disappointed as a late intercept from Holly Bawden meant Chiefs succumbed 17-10 to a physical and well-drilled Sharks side, ending any mathematical hopes of catching Loughborough in fourth place. Gloucester-Hartpury also suffered defeat that weekend, a 25-20 reverse at home to Wasps, meaning that both sides maintained their positions in the league heading into this final weekend.
Whilst the Sale match was “a disappointment” for Appleby’s side, she maintains that fighting for fifth is a “fair reflection” of where her side are in comparison to the rest of the league.
One of the big things Appleby has seen her side learn, is the importance of bonus points in the final shake-up, something she wants her players to pay greater attention to next season.
“We’ve learnt a lot about keeping teams away from you, like that last bit of play against Loughborough Lightning where they got a losing bonus point which was crucial," added Appleby. "There’s lots of learning which will make us think hard about when we’re approaching games and what they mean next season.”
There has been significant change for the Chiefs squad since that gloriously sunny afternoon at Hartpury back in October, with new personnel putting their hands up for selection in the months since. One such of those is young prop Abby Middlebrooke, who will be hoping to make her club debut off the bench this weekend.
As part of the learning process, Appleby’s side, by their own admission, have become a far more cohesive unit, with Appleby noting the importance of that friendship off the field in driving her team forward.
“We were strangers taking the field together [in that first game] and now the girls are very good friends. There’s been some real progress made not just on the field but in who we are off the field and that is what will really take us forward in the future,” she notes. “We wanted the girls to have a good time and really enjoy themselves but also for us to all learn together and really represent ourselves well. We wanted to tell people that we’re not just here to make up numbers.”
Going into the final match, Appleby has made just one change in personnel to her starting XV, with Niamh Terry ruled out with injury. As a result, versatile American captain Kate Zackary has another opportunity to impress in the centre, with Abbie Fleming, fresh from returning to the international fold with Wales last month, starting at openside flanker. On the bench, Middlebrooke remains a potential debutant with Kayleigh Armstrong and Meg Davies both returning to the match-day 23.
Appleby is well aware of the threat that her former side will pose to her Exeter team with experience and quality all over the pitch.
“Gloucester-Hartpury are a really good side," warned Appleby. "We’re paying them the absolute respect that they deserve. They’re very different to that first game of the season and we’re very different. I think both of us will want to go out and enjoy ourselves on Saturday.”
Ahead of the fixture, Appleby acknowledged the successes her side had had, before firing a warning shot to the rest of the league as to what her side are capable of as they continue to develop and grow.
“We’re really pleased with what’s happened and what we’ve managed to achieve despite the challenges [this season]. We’re Exeter Chiefs and we’re here to be reckoned with.”
Supporters will be able to watch coverage of the match live on the Exeter Chiefs YouTube channel.
EXETER CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY
15 Merryn Doidge
14 Laura Sheehan
13 Kate Zackary
12 Gabby Cantorna
11 Garnet Mackinder
10 Patricia Garcia
9 Flo Robinson
1 Sachiko Kato
2 Emily Tuttosi
3 Laura Delgado
4 Poppy Leitch
5 McKinley Hunt
6 Ebony Jefferies
7 Abbie Fleming
8 Linde van der Velden (capt)
16 Joanna Kitlinski
17 Michaella Roberts
18 Abby Middlebrooke
19 Rosanna Moynihan
20 Kayleigh Armstrong
21 Ffion Lewis
22 Megan Davies
23 Louise Burgess