Chiefs Women 52 Sharks Women 14
Exeter Chiefs Women 52
Sale Sharks Women 14
James Fowler at Sandy Park
Exeter Chiefs made sure that 13 wasn’t an unlucky number for them, as they stormed to their 13th consecutive bonus point victory over the Sale Sharks to maintain their position at the top of the Allianz Premier 15s table.
In what was the final fixture before the international break, Susie Appleby’s table-toppers first half tries from Ebony Jefferies, Lori Cramer, DaLeaka Menin and Nichola Fryday laid the foundations for the victory, before a third quarter onslaught, which included tries for Claudia MacDonald, Emily Tuttosi, Merryn Doidge and a second for Fryday, made sure the job was complete.
Sale, who showed real tenacity throughout the contest, deservedly scored through their tight-head prop Catie Benson and the impressive second row Sara Tounesi, to give them some reward for their efforts.
With a sickness bug having hit the Chiefs camp this week, the usually methodical preparations had been somewhat disrupted, however despite this the hosts came out of the blocks firing and following a dominant driving maul, Jefferies was able to storm over in just the fifth minute to give Exeter the perfect start.
With the expected rain not having arrived, the Chiefs backs were able to showcase their full armoury of attacking skills, and they showed this to full effect in the 11th minute, when some slick hands were able to put Cramer in acres of space on the right wing, and the Australian international was able to canter in to put the Chiefs fully in command.
With some strong carries by the American duo of Rachel Johnson and Hope Rogers providing the Chiefs with plenty of front foot ball, the home attack was really starting to flourish, with Liv McGoverne and Gabby Cantorna in particular beginning to pull the strings. It was therefore no surprise that after some good concerted pressure inside the Sale 22, Cantorna was able to produce a beautifully timed pass to Canadian prop Menin, who was able to saunter in unopposed for the third try.
The Sharks were quick to hit back however, and they certainly made the Chiefs know they were in a contest when after Mhairi Grieve caught the Exeter defence napping with a quick tap penalty inside the home 22, Benson was eventually able to rumble over from close range to bring the Mancunians back into the game.
Undeterred, the Chiefs were quickly back in their stride and with just minutes before the break, they wrapped up the bonus point when, after some more concerted pressure inside the Sale 22, Irish captain Fryday was able to power her way over for her first of the afternoon.
There was however to be a slight dampener at the end of the first half for the home side, as McGoverne was shown yellow for a high shot, which resulted in the Sale captain Georgie Perris-Redding’s face being cut.
HALF TIME: EXETER CHIEFS 24 SALE SHARKS 7
Into the second half and the Chiefs were quickly up and running as MaDonald, who has made quite an impression since arriving in Devon following the conclusion of the World Cup last year, again showed her prowess as the Red Roses star pounced on a loose ball deep inside her own half, before out-sprinting everyone around her to storm in under the posts.
In another common scene which Chiefs supporters have become very accustomed to, Tuttosi was able to cross the whitewash from yet another remarkably impressive catch-and-drive line-out, as the Canadian international controlled the ball brilliantly at the back following some more excellent work from the pack.
Doidge, playing on the wing rather than her more familiar full-back position, then produced arguably the try of the afternoon, as the former England 7s player beat off two defenders before sprinting away down the right wing to score a scintillating solo effort, which brought the Sandy Park crowd to its feet.
Not done there, the Chiefs were soon adding their eighth and final try of the afternoon, as Fryday was able to force her way over once more after some strong concerted pressure on the Sale line.
With the crowd now expecting the floodgates to open, a string of replacements and some lengthy injury stoppages really seemed to check the Chiefs momentum, and in fact it was Sale who controlled much of the final quarter. The Sharks were eventually rewarded for their dominance with a try for the highly impressive Tounesi, as she slid in from a couple of yards out following intensive pressure on the Chiefs line.
Following the awarding of the try, referee Adam Wookey showed Linde Van Der Velden a yellow card for cumulative team offences, much to the Dutch player’s frustration having only just arrived off the bench.
Playing most of the final 10 minutes with 14 players, the Chiefs looked the more threatening, however some ill-discipline and some handling errors at key times meant the Chiefs weren’t able to add to their eight tries.
Despite the slight frustration at not having added to their points tally in the final quarter, there was still clear delight on the Chiefs players as they extended their winning run, which they will certainly hope to extend when the domestic season re starts next month with the Allianz Cup semi-final against Bristol Bears.
Chiefs: L Cramer; M Doidge, K Zackary, G Cantorna (R Wilkins 65), C MacDonald; L McGoverne, F Robinson (B Bradley 72); H Rogers (S Turani 60), E Tuttosi (C Nielson 60), D Menin (C Jacoby 60); N Fryday (A Fleming 65), P Leitch (capt); E Jefferies (L Van Der Velden 65), M Allen (J Ounsley 60), R Johnson.
Tries – Jefferies, Cramer, Menin, Fryday (2), MacDonald, Tuttosi, Doidge; Conversions – McGoverne (5), Cantorna
Yellow Cards: McGoverne, Van Der Velden
Sharks: V A Irwin (G White 59); H Bawden, L Perrin, K Howard, H Thorpe; S Law (C Cookland 59), M Grieve (C Waters 70); S Lewis, J Kitlinski (N Swailes 54), C Benson (A Iwanejko 78); S Tounesi (M Ridgway 73), I Antwis; R McLachlan, G Perris-Redding (capt, K Searcy 59), A Washington (N Howat 70).
Tries – Benson, Tounesi; Conversions – Law, Cookland.
Yellow Card: Swailes
Referee: A Wookey
Attendance: 1,181