Team news: Robinson and Wall return for Gloucester Hartpury game

Exeter Chiefs Women have welcomed back captain Emily Robinson and lock Dorothy Wall for tomorrow night’s round 13 PWR game against Gloucester Hartpury at Kingsholm (KO 19:30).

Robinson had to sit out two matches with a hamstring injury while Wall missed the loss to Saracens with concussion. They return to a pack that has also seen the tighthead props rotate with DaLeaka Menin back in the starting XV.

Hooker El Febrey gets her first start for Exeter Chiefs in the place of hooker Emily Tuttosi who is recovering from concussion. Kayleigh Priest has been named on the bench to potentially make her PWR debut.

Katie Buchanan and Nancy McGillivray have also been selected, to start on the wing and at inside centre respectively, to face the reigning champions.

Lucy Nye misses out after picking up a shoulder injury against Saracens.

Exeter Chiefs Women’s head coach Steve Salvin said: “Gloucester Hartpury away is clearly a very, very tough game. But, you know, we went to Saracens believing we could get something from that and it didn't play out that way. But we have that same belief going into Gloucester this weekend.

“When we've had success this year, you can almost guarantee that we've probably dominated that game physically. The games that we've lost, we've probably not been able to do that in the same way. We felt our physicality dropped off a little bit against Saracens, which was naturally disappointing, but it highlights something for us to go after this weekend.”

Chiefs Women will come up against an unbeaten Gloucester Hartpury side packed with internationals..

“Gloucester Hartpury have been in games this year where they've come under pressure and they've found a way to win. They’ve found a way to win with a bonus point and that’s reflected by where they sit in the league. But matches are rarely plain sailing. I mean, we got a bonus point win at home against Loughborough, and that scoreline looked comfortable, but for the duration of that 80 minutes, it didn't feel very comfortable!

“Obviously, we're aware we're playing Gloucester Hartpury this weekend and we've prepared to play Gloucester Hartpury this weekend, but you don't really approach games massively differently just because of who the opposition is. Any team you come up against in this competition now, you know they're going to have very good players in numerous positions. It's not a huge part of the conversation. It's more about understanding how we get the best performance out of ourselves.”

Tickets for Gloucester Hartpury v Exeter Chiefs Women are £15 for adults and £5 for children. Supporters can also watch the game on BBC iPlayer. There will also be live commentary updates on the Exeter Chiefs website here.

Exeter Chiefs Women

15 Sabrina Poulin
14 Katie Buchanan
13 Alex Tessier
12 Nancy McGillivray
11 Claudia Moloney-MacDonald
10 Liv McGoverne
9 Flo Robinson (vc)
1 Hope Rogers
2 Eleanor Febrey
3 DaLeaka Menin
4 Linde van der Velden
5 Dorothy Wall
6 Emily Robinson (c)
7 Maisy Allen (vc)
8 Maddie Feaunati

16 Kayleigh Priest
17 Demi Swann
18 Amy Rule
19 Abby Duguid
20 Gabriella Nigrelli
21 Eilidh Sinclair
22 Gabby Cantorna
23 Merryn Elworthy