Chiefs Women to face Wasps Ladies
By Harry Scott-Munro
5/3/21
Exeter Chiefs Women's Head Coach Susie Appleby insists that her side “want these big games” as her chargers look to make it seven matches unbeaten in the Allianz Premier 15s against in-form Wasps at Twyford Avenue tomorrow (2pm).
Last weekend, Appleby’s side secured their biggest result of the season, as they racked up a 12-try 76-5 victory over DMP Durham Sharks, in a match that saw Louise Burgess score four tries on her first start and inside-centre Gabby Cantorna end the match with a personal haul of 21 points.
“It was a good result against Darlington," said Appleby. "It gave us a chance to blood a few players and they got their first experience of the premiership, which was just brilliant. Obviously, you’ve got to consider who was in front of us, but that will give the girls confidence going into Wasps to be able to attack in the way that they did.”
On a day that saw a number of club firsts and milestones, the most pleasing thing for Appleby was the attacking fluidity that her side showed, with the majority of her side’s tries coming off the back of flowing backs moves.
“We had three academy players out there, which is a really important step in itself. Lou (Burgess) obviously scored four tries and set a record for the club, which is brilliant. There’s lots of milestones going on but we were putting some attacking shape together that we hadn’t quite put together (so far.) Previous weeks, we’ve been scoring pick and drives,” she continued, “It was great to get outside backs on the ball. I couldn’t believe that Merryn (Doidge) hadn’t scored before last weekend and she scored two, with Gabby Cantorna scoring her first try.”
The opportunities though came from the platform presented by Appleby’s forward pack, who have been impressive so far this season.
She continued: “Our forwards have been consistently excellent, and they do it every single week which is brilliant. We’ve been fortunate enough to not suffer many injuries or abstractions in the forwards, which always helps in terms of continuity.”
With just five rounds of the regular season remaining, Appleby’s side know the significance of their encounter with Giselle Mather’s fourth-placed Wasps side tomorrow with the hosts having won six of their last seven matches, their only defeat by a solitary point to Harlequins.
Appleby is expecting a tough encounter, adding: “Wasps were outstanding against Saracens and are probably the form team in the league but have just come out on the wrong side of a couple of scorelines, like the week before against Quins. We know what we’re up against on Saturday, we’ve planned for it, we’ve prepped really well and got some players back who have been away. The girls are really up for it!"
The encounter earlier in the season between the sides saw the scores level at 14-all at half-time, before Wasps eventually edged their way to a 24-14 victory. Appleby is expecting another titanic clash.
“When they came here, it came down to one miscued kick and Ellie Kildunne scoring a wonder try, so we know it’ll be as tight as that on Saturday and we’re looking forward to a really tight encounter.”
With news of the recommendation by World Rugby to postpone the World Cup in New Zealand, Appleby’s side are bolstered by the return of two of their international stars to the matchday side in Laura Delgado and compatriot Patricia Garcia, having served her five-game suspension.
“The Spanish are back (Delgado and Garcia,) which is brilliant. Obviously disappointing as they were due to play a qualifier, but they’ve flown back in, so we’ll include them and hopefully they can make a difference.”
Captain Linde Van der Velden is ruled out having suffered a shoulder injury on international duty against Spain last weekend. As a result, Rachel Johnson continues at openside, with Kate Zackary again at No.8. Garcia returns to the starting line-up at scrum-half, with the impressive Flo Robinson shifting to outside centre, where she is equally comfortable.
Explaining her thinking behind the selection, Appleby insisted that she has complete confidence in her young English scrum-half, having seen her excel in the absence of Garcia.
“We’ve got very strong forwards and we’re missing out on our 13’s at the moment because of injury. Flo Robinson has been outstanding. She’s been in the England camp for a couple of weeks now as well, so she’s gaining confidence but also gaining experience rubbing shoulders with the very finest English players.”
Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, the news of the recommended postponement of the World Cup in New Zealand has dominated the airwaves. Appleby admits that “there’s a lot of disappointment around,” with a number of her international stars having been eyeing a place in their respective tournament squads.
Appleby though, acknowledged that safety would always be paramount, adding:
“Teams have got to be able to prep and a lot of teams just haven’t been able to prep at the moment, some of them haven’t even qualified for the world cup, so it was never going to be an even playing field if it was played in October. It needs to be a spectacle because our game is growing at a rapid rate of knots and people need to be able to watch.”
Despite the news, the focus for Appleby’s side remains firmly on this weekend’s encounter.
“We’re all human so of course the girls are disappointed,” noted an understanding Appleby. “However, they’re all so brilliant that they’ve just got onto the next job, which is Wasps.”
“Wasps is a huge game but every game is a huge game from now on in, so we’ll take Saturday and then we’ll see what happens.”
Supporters will be able to watch Saturday’s match on the Wasps Ladies YouTube channel and Twitter account, with the match kicking off at 2pm.
EXETER CHIEFS WOMEN TO FACE WASPS LADIES
15. Niamh Terry
14. Merryn Doidge
13. Flo Robinson
12. Gabby Cantorna
11. Garnet Mackinder (capt)
10. Taylor Black
9. Patricia Garcia
1. Olivia De Merchant
2. Emily Tuttosi
3. Sachiko Kato
4. Poppy Leitch
5. McKinley Hunt
6. Ebony Jefferies
7. Rachel Johnson
8. Kate Zackary
16. Joanna Kitlinski
17. Michaella Roberts
18. Laura Delgado
19. Abbie Fleming
20. Rosanna Moynihan
21. Meg Davies
22. Gabby Gower
23. Louise Burgess