Team news: Ounsley back on the wing for cup semi-final

Wing Jodie Ounsley is back in the Exeter Chiefs Women’s starting XV to take on Saracens Women, seven months after she injured her shoulder in the first game of the 2023/24 Allianz Cup.

Now at the semi-final stage, Ounsley returns to action alongside a whole host of other changes that see hooker Clara Nielson starting Saturday’s game having returned from an ankle injury she picked up against Harlequins in December.

Also in the forwards, prop Demi Swann joins Neilson and Hope Rogers in the front row. Taz Bricknell gets her first Chiefs start in the back row with Harriet Millar-Mills moving to No 8.

In the backs, Brooke Bradley switches to full-back, University of Exeter student Sophie Langford will begin the game at inside centre, and Olivia Ortiz is starting at scrum-half.

On the bench, back-row Niamh Orchard has also returned to Chiefs action after breaking her arm in a BUCS game. Fellow university students Danielle Preece and Harriette Bond are on the bench too alongside Devon-born Sammie Harris and Exeter College student Hannah Sams.

All selected players must have played in the previous rounds of the Allianz Cup or have dispensation as they were injured for the pool stages or had not yet joined the club, such as the former Warriors Women players.

Saturday’s game will see Exeter Chiefs Women travel to the StoneX Stadium to take on Saracens at 14:30 after four weekends without a game.

Exeter Chiefs Women’s coach Susie Appleby said: “We have been trying to focus on different things every week to keep people engaged but we are back into game week at last and now it rolls on through pretty quickly and we will be at the end of the season before we know it!

“We have got Jodie Ounsley coming back, which is brilliant. She has not appeared since round one of the cup, so a long, long time ago. It’s really exciting for all of us, especially her.

“And at hooker, with Cli (Moloney) called up for Ireland, we have got Clara back, which is huge.”

Appleby continued: “A lot of this competition depends on who gets selected at the beginning of the year in an international perspective. Sarries retained a lot of their strong players, which is great for them, but then so have we.

“There are a couple of mix-ups in the squad, but it makes it all quite exciting. It’s almost a new team going on the field."