Hat-trick hero Doidge praises team effort

By Harry Scott-Munro 
28/2/22

Full-back Merryn Doidge was left reflecting on “an amazing day,” as she scored her first hat-trick in an Exeter Chiefs jersey on a rampant day for her side in the Allianz Premier 15s.

Just a week after being undone at the death by Loughborough Lightning, the Chiefs bounced back in style to seal a 60-7 victory against a shell-shocked Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park.

At the heart of the home side’s assault was Doidge, who along with team-mate Emily Tuttosi, both bagged hat-tricks in a ten-try success for Susie Appleby’s side.

“It’s an amazing day today. To be able to do that in front of a home crowd is just so special. I had lots of people from my old club here today as well, so it was really special,” Doidge beamed.

Despite the result last week against Loughborough, the Chiefs camp were pleased with the performance at Franklin’s Gardens and they took the positives of that display into this latest encounter, scoring the first of their tries through Doidge with less than a minute on the clock.

Doidge was modest in her reaction to her three tries; all of which were sumptuously taken, instead choosing to praise the efforts of the players around her.

“It was really good to bounce back from last week. We were disappointed and left a few points out there, but this was really important. Hopefully, we can press on now. It was good to get on the end of those passes, but it all came from fantastic breaks from Nancy and Kanako. I was pleased to get on the end of it, but this was a real team performance. To do this in front of a home crowd like this is special.”

That home crowd was in fine voice throughout with over 1,000 fans cheering the Chiefs over the line. Doidge was quick to credit the crowd and called on them to keep pushing her side forward as they hunt a playoff place.

“This crowd is going to be huge for us 100%. It was great to have them here today, but we need them to keep pushing us on further.”

This really was a complete performance from the Chiefs and whilst Doidge credited the calibre of the Worcester side, she was thrilled with how her side performed.

“They’ve got class across the board, but we really fronted up. We know that they will always bring physicality, but the girls really matched that today and put up a fantastic fight.”