Chiefs side to play Gloucester-Hartpury
By Mark Stevens
9/10/20
Exeter Chiefs Women's head coach Susie Appleby says there is a 'buzz of excitement' amongst her whole group ahead of tomorrow's seasonal opener at Gloucester-Hartpury in the Allianz Premier 15s division (2:30pm).
The newly-formed Chiefs will kick-off their maiden campaign at this level looking to make their mark from the outset at the Alpas Arena.
In what have been testing times for everyone due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, Appleby - who will be facing her former club - says putting together her squad has been challenging to say the least.
“This has been over a year in the making,” said Appleby. “When I decided to make the move from Gloucester-Hartpury, we were still playing, I was coaching a different team and then bang, it all changed so quickly. What has happened over that time, you couldn’t have written it, you couldn’t have imagined it!
“There have been lots of challenges, but we’ve tried to find the opportunities in those challenges. We’ve not been able to bring in some great players from around the world and combine them with some amazing local talent. For me, the chance to blend all of that together over these last eight, nine weeks has been brilliant.”
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” explained Appleby. “As it would happen, we’ve got Gloucester-Hartpury first up and that makes it very interesting in a lot of ways. That said, we have to focus on ourselves, we can’t focus on them too much. They’ve got a new coach, they’ve got different players and although we know a fair bit about them, we don’t know exactly how they are going to attack this season.
“We’re a brand new side, there’s lots of things we’ve got to do, but we’re looking forward to it. It won’t be perfect, we know that, but little by little we aim to grow. We’ve got some fantastic individuals, but it’s how cohesive can we be?
“At the end of the day, as coaches we’ve put in a framework we hope will be a good start point, now it’s up to the girls to go out and express themselves to be the best rugby players they can be.”
Since taking charge of the Chiefs, working alongside assistant Amy Garnett, the duo have worked closely with the club's men's section to glean vital insights into how to build a successful club side.
“Of course we want to replicate bits of the men's side, but we also have to tweak bits because we're females and they are males, we just don't play the same game because we're not the same species. That said, some of the work we've done and the chats we've had with the men's side, it's been incredibly useful and you could see bits of that come out at the weekend.
"Equally, one size doesn't fit all, so we've had to add certain things ourselves. As coaches, what we're hoping to do is not only put a decent product on the field, but we want the girls to go out and enjoy themselves. We've only got 18 games and then we start it all again, so the message is enjoy what you are doing."
With a wealth of youth and experience to choose from, it's a powerful looking line-up that Appleby has assembled for tomorrow's fixture. Dutch forward Linde van der Velden will have the honour of leading the Chiefs into battle, but there is plenty of experience around her in the likes of international stars, including Kate Zackary, Emily Tuttosi, Sachiko Katoh, McKinley Hunt, Taylor Black and Lauren Cattell.
Although relative unknowns to the league, Appleby says her own aspirations mean the Chiefs will want to succeed from the outset.
"We want to deliver," said Appleby. "Anyone who knows me, knows I am incredibly competitive and there is the personal pride aspect of it as well. "This is why we are driving the players to be the best they can, not just as individuals, but also bringing that into a team environment.
"For us, culture is massive. What we have done in the last nine weeks we now hope to see out on the field. It's not just rugby, it's about friendships, fighting for one another, and taking each other forward on the journey."
Chiefs supporters will be able to watch a live stream of tomorrow's game, via the following:
Premier15s.com link (this will go live on Saturday morning) - https://www.premier15s.com/news/article/live--glou...
Premier 15s Twitter - https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1ynJOqBWQOrKR
England Rugby YouTube - https://youtu.be/eqtkU41tljU
England Rugby Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEnglandRugby/vide...
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY
15 Merryn Doidge
14 Jennine Duncan
13 Lottie Holland
12 Lauren Cattell
11 Garnet MacKinder
10 Taylor Black
9 Ffion Lewis
1 Michaella Roberts
2 Emily Tuttosi
3 Sachiko Katoh
4 Abbie Fleming
5 McKinley Hunt
6 Ebony Jefferies
7 Kate Zackary
8 Linde van der Velden (capt)
16 Lauren Leatherland
17 Jess Thomas
18 Charlie Budge
19 Rosanna Moynihan
20 Daisy French
21 Flo Robinson
22 Gabby Cantorna
23 Louise Burgess