Cramer loving life with the Chiefs
By James Fowler
11/3/23
Exeter Chiefs Women’s full-back Lori Cramer spoke of what a ‘special moment’ it was for her and her team-mates to run out at Twickenham last weekend to face Harlequins in ‘Big Game 14’.
The Australian international has impressed since arriving at Sandy Park earlier in the season, with her infectious personality making her an extremely popular member of the squad with players, coaches and fans’ alike.
Looking back at last Saturday’s momentous victory over Harlequins at the home of English rugby, Cramer joked that her father was actually jealous that she was able to run out at such an iconic rugby stadium.
“I think my dad was the most jealous person in the world when I told him that I was going to get a chance to run out at Twickenham,” she said. “Obviously, everyone in the world has dreams of playing in those kind of arenas. It was a really special moment for me and the girls.”
Despite facing a few culture shocks since arriving on these shores, such as seeing snow for the first time earlier this week, Cramer was keen to emphasise how much she has enjoyed life since arriving in Exeter.
“It shocked me yesterday it started snowing for no reason. I don’t know why, I’m sure there’s science behind that, but bloody hell that really caught me by surprise.
“I’m really enjoying it here, I mean it’s a bit different to back home just in the sense of the amount of attention to detail that goes in here at the Exeter Chiefs is insane and I’m sure that shows on the scoreboard when we’re able to play for the full 80 minutes.”
Cramer continued: “Coming over here and having to play with ice on the balls and even just training at night time, it’s been a really great experience. In this team we’ve got so many international girls, so learning different ways of looking at rugby and different ideas of how to play I’ve really been enjoying my time here.”
Cramer underlined just how tight knit the squad has become, with the diverse international nature of the squad seeming to really aid that closeness.
“The girls here are awesome and we’ve got a really fun group. Most of us are away from home so it’s just kind of brought us tighter together as a group which has been really special and I’m sure that shows out on the field.”
Cramer reflected on just how tough the competition for places is within the Chiefs match-day squads, with many starting internationals unable to find themselves a place on the team sheet.
“You’ve got some players who miss out on the team sheet who are starting internationals, and that’s why I’m here, I’m here to get better and I’m here to learn and improve my game but have a really great experience and that’s exactly what’s been happening over here.”
There is no doubting that this is an exciting time for women’s rugby, with the sport seemingly growing at an incredible pace, and Cramer was keen to reflect on the progress that is being made in progressing the professional women’s game across the world.
“The Premier 15s I would say is the best women’s league in the world right now. I mean I know that there’s movements back home, even in New Zealand, like their Aupiki comp. There’s a lot of really exciting things coming out, the Wallaroos we’ve just got contracts and like there’s all different things going on around the world, so it’s a really exciting time to be a part of women’s rugby cause there’s some big moves happening, but I’m pretty stoked that I’m here in Exeter for it.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s tussle with the Sale Sharks at Sandy Park, Cramer underlined how wary the Chiefs are of the threats the team from Manchester will bring, especially considering just how tough a challenge the Sharks presented in the return fixture back at the beginning of January.
“Susie (Appleby), Steve (Salvin) and the team they prepare us really well for every single game and we never go into any game especially here at Sandy Park thinking that we’re going to go out and smash anyone, but obviously we try to and that definitely comes out at fulltime, but Sale I think they’ve got some really good players, and they don’t go away and we found that out last time we played them.
“You don’t count out anyone in this league, because everyone’s out there to prove something, and especially with the Six Nations selections for everyone’s countries everyone’s out there to try and rip in and to fight for spots which is really exciting.”
Cramer spoke of what an ‘incredible vibe’ she has found there to be at Sandy Park on home match days since her arrival at the club, with the incredible Chiefs support base really getting behind the side during every home game.
“Playing here at Sandy Park, I heard people bang on about it when I first got here but now I get it, it’s an incredible stadium, it’s an incredible vibe. I mean the fans here at Exeter Chiefs they really show up in numbers and they’re bloody loud and when they get their chants going and they just start sporadically, and you’ve got little kids that are leading chants and then you’ve got the old blokes at the back that are leading chants for the women. It’s a really good place to be playing rugby.”