Match Reaction - Susie Appleby

By Harry Scott-Munro
12/12/21

Exeter Chiefs Women’s Head Coach Susie Appleby admitted that her side had come up against an “outstanding defence” as she saw her side’s unbeaten home record end after a narrow 10-8 defeat to Gloucester-Hartpury in the Allianz Premier 15s at Sandy Park.

A first half score from Patricia Garcia, along with a penalty from the Spanish international weren’t enough in the end, as Gloucester-Hartpury edged to victory thanks to tries from World Player of the Year Zoe Aldcroft and Emma Sing.

“We had our opportunities,” explained Appleby. “But we didn’t look after the ball enough, which was one of our priorities. We came out on the wrong side, but you can’t fault the attitude and the intent. We just got a few decisions wrong against a good side who got the win.”

In the week, assistant coach Steve Salvin had said that his side had put a real emphasis on defending the driving maul. Appleby admitted that she was pleased on the whole with how her side had dealt with the visitors’ main threat, but added that small errors against a quality side were ultimately the difference.

“To be fair, we dealt with their driving maul pretty well. They didn’t get a lot of ground out of that. Our maul as well, once we decided to mix it up and drive a bit, we got some good ground from that. Some bits today were really positive, but if you make a few mistakes against a strong side, with a really good kicker and driving maul, you come out on the wrong side.”

After two positive results against Loughborough Lightning and Worcester Warriors, Appleby felt that her side needed “some tidy-ups” after their performance at Sandy Park, but challenged her side to understand the game better.

“Those opportunities will come as we understand the game better. We’re trying to work on that, but we let ourselves down a bit today. But Gloucester-Hartpury were the better side today and deserved the win, so congratulations to them.”

Looking ahead to Exeter’s final match before Christmas against DMP Sharks, Appleby suggested that she may make some changes to her side, but explained that she was looking for more consistency, as her side aim to finish in the top four.

“We may change the team up a bit and give some people an opportunity, but we won’t lose that continuity. That will be the key. We just need to get better. Hopefully, we can get on the road and get a good result up in Darlington. We are a top four side when we’re on it. When we’re not, we let ourselves be dominated like we were today,” she noted. “We need to get that consistency into our performances to ensure we move into the new year and maintain a top four position.”