Mackinder proves her worth in Cup win

By Harry Scott-Munro
15/11/21

Exeter Chiefs Women’s winger Garnet Mackinder struggled to hide her delight after she marked her first start of the season with a superb try in her side’s 34-14 Allianz Cup victory against Worcester Warriors.

Having played the waiting game for much of the current campaign, Mackinder showed there was still life in her legs, as she raced in from the halfway line, following some brilliant offloading from Charlie Willett and Clara Nielson in the first half.

“It was so good,” she said. “It was a long way to run, but it was great to get the ball in my hands and back myself to get back to what I do best!”

In sunny conditions at Sandy Park, the Chiefs raced into a 29-point half-time lead, courtesy of tries from Abby Middlebrooke, Flo Robinson, Patricia Garcia and Mackinder, before Nielson added to her side’s tally in the second half.

The Allianz Cup competition has allowed a number of players to gain some much-needed minutes on the field and has so far served to highlight the strength in depth within the Chiefs squad.

Despite securing victory against Sale Sharks last week, Mackinder felt her side still had room for improvement and was pleased with the show her side put on in front of the home crowd.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been my first couple of games of the season as well. I felt we were a little bit rusty last week, but today we really get our momentum going as a team as we head back into the Premiership,” she noted.

“It was a beautiful day for rugby. In the first half, we played some lovely stuff and got some really nice backs ball which was brilliant. In the second half, we didn’t keep that momentum going but two from two in the cup, we can’t really complain.”

Looking ahead, the Chiefs return to league action in two weeks’ time against Loughborough Lightning, Mackinder challenged her side to continue to “keep Sandy Park a fortress” in both league and cup.

“Loughborough always bring it,” she added. “They have a bit of a different team, with the likes of Emily Scarratt out and some young guns, but you can’t ever underestimate them. Hopefully, we can keep Sandy Park as a fortress and keep up the winning performances.”