Chiefs Women to face Wasps
By Harry Scott-Munro
1/10/21
Two weeks on from a seismic victory in the capital, Exeter Chiefs Women will look to make it three wins on the spin, when they entertain Wasps Women tomorrow in the Allianz Premier 15s at Sandy Park (2pm).
Fresh from their bonus point victory over the defending champions, the Devonians are certainly looking to build once more against another of the division’s leading lights. Reflecting on the their last victory, assistant coach Tom Hayes admitted that it was “a huge win” for his side, although he acknowledged that the challenge now for his side is to back that performance up against an equally formidable opponent.
“To go to the reigning champions and come away with a bonus-point win was obviously very big for us,” said the Irishman. “Now, we need to try and go beyond a possible mental hurdle in shutting down almost for a week and not being able to roll on from it straight away. We need to try and get over that hurdle and get back at it this weekend.
“We’re coming up against a team that are traditionally one of the top sides in England, so we need to be right on it again.”
Giselle Mathers’ Wasps side sit one point ahead of the Chiefs in the table, this after a drama-filled 26-22 victory over Worcester Warriors in their last outing.
Hayes, though, is expecting the visitors to be on top form tomorrow, challenging his side to match their performance levels shown against Harlequins.
“I’m expecting them to be a streetwise side that’s used to operating at the very top level. Any sort of weakness, you know they will have done their homework to try and exploit it,” insisted Hayes. “We’re going to have to be on our toes the whole day. It’ll be similar to what we did at Quins. We need to go after it a bit and make them worry about us, as much as we will worry about them. Going into the game trying to contain them, I don’t think that will be the right mindset.”
One of the standouts of that Harlequins game was the performance of half-back pair Brooke Bradley and Flo Robinson in attack. Despite the return of Gabby Cantorna to action, both keep their place in the starting XV, Cantorna reverting to the inside centre role she filled so well last season.
The one disappointment from that match was a broken leg for Canadian lock McKinley Hunt – with Hayes open enough to admit that the seriousness of the injury had put “a dampener” on an otherwise “very good day.”
With her injury, Linde Van der Velden shifts into the second row with co-captain Kate Zackary moving back into the No.8 jersey after her stint in the centre at The Stoop.
“It’s very harsh on McKinley given the circumstances. She was filling a lot of important roles over the weeks leading up to the injury. But it is now an opportunity for someone else. We’re very happy with the squad and how they’re fully engaging in what we’re doing, so we need to ty and move on.”
There is an established feel to this Exeter Chiefs time now, with consistency of selection playing a big part in the marked improvements since the opening round against Bristol Bears. In a settled Chiefs side, there are two changes to the match-day XV, Cantorna returning from injury and Olivia De Merchant making her first start of the season, after Sachiko Kato picked up an injury in training.
Amongst the replacements, Spanish duo Patricia Garcia and Laura Delgado are named in the squad for the first time this season, having been representing their country in the European Rugby World Cup Qualifiers.
Hayes has been pleased with the attitude in training, hoping that it translates itself onto the pitch come kick-off.
“The girls have come back in and trained at a high level and high intensity. We’re now really reenergised after a lighter week last week. They’ve come back in and trained very well this week and I hope that translates into the right mindset to go and play absolutely full-on Saturday.”
The Chiefs narrowly lost to Wasps in a pre-season friendly back in August in front of 2000 fans, but Hayes is hoping that his side can begin to turn Sandy Park into a fortress, buoyed by the Chiefs fanbase.
“We need to make it a big thing for teams to come here and try and take something from the game. We need to take it a little bit personally and try and be as ruthless as we can. We need to stop teams doing what they’re doing and make the very best of what is in front of us,” implored Hayes. “That’s why it was such a big deal to go to Quins a few weeks ago and win. That’s what we need to try and do here.”
Tomorrow’s match will be livestreamed on the Allianz Premier15s website for those unable to make it to Sandy Park.
