Match Reaction - Susie Appleby

By Harry Scott-Munro
7/11/21

Exeter Chiefs Women’s Head Coach Susie Appleby admitted that the performance of her side “wasn’t pretty,” but overall expressed her satisfaction, as her side secured a 19-0 victory away at Sale Sharks Women in their opening Allianz Cup fixture at Heywood Road.

Two tries from Maisy Allen and an early score from Clara Nielson, two of which were converted by Patricia Garcia, secured the win for the Chiefs in atrocious conditions.

“It wasn’t very pretty or very smart but just look at the conditions,” mused Appleby. “We knew from the start what we should be doing and there were some really good things in miserable conditions. To get a win to open our cup campaign is great.”

There were a large number of Chiefs debutants with Appleby singling out a number for praise.

“It was brilliant to see Eilidh Sinclair getting back out there as well after missing such a long time with injury at seven. Nancy (McGillivray,) also did really well at 12,” she explained. “It’s so brilliant. Abby Middlebrooke, stepping in at loosehead for the first time in a senior game was very good and looked really comfortable in there. You expect it from someone like Laura (Delgado) returning from international duty, but Abby was very good. There were others as well. Charlie Willett went into the second row and did a very good job.”

Appleby also took the time to praise young back-row Allen, who scored two tries from No.8 in her first start in that position.

“There were some outstanding individual performances, Maisy Allen being one of them. We slotted her in at eight today and it was like she’s always played there. There were lots of positives in amongst what was a little bit of a frustrating day. Amongst those, was our set piece which was hugely dominant.”

Despite the positives of the victory, Appleby could also see things to work on for her side, building into their next cup match against Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park on Sunday.

“I’m really pleased we’re playing next week again against Worcester at home and I’m looking for another really good performance,” she explained. “I’d like to see better game management. If we’d played a bit smarter in the first half today, I think the scoreline could have been a bit different. It will improve confidence again for all those who get their second run out. I’m really excited to see what they bring by notching it up a gear.”

The Allianz Cup has allowed Appleby to test the depth of her squad and the Head Coach was insistent that strength in depth was what would be needed for her side to compete for a play-off berth.

“There are some senior players who have been waiting a long time for an opportunity. It is absolutely imperative (to have strength in depth), if you want to be in the top four, that you have a squad you can rely on to make those steps up. You need to have 30 plus players who are going to be comfortable and confident if you want to be top four.”