Team news: Jefferies up for her 100 and last Chiefs Women’s game for Johnson

Exeter Chiefs Women’s flanker Ebony Jefferies will collect her 100^th club cap tomorrow (KO 19:45) against Leicester Tigers Women just as No 8 Rachel Johnson plays her last game in the PWR.

While not a meaningly fixture in terms of league position, Chiefs are aiming to send off the USA Eagle in style while also celebrating the career of a player who was there right at the beginning of the inception of the Chiefs’ women’s side.

Head coach Susie Appleby said: “I think it’s important we get tomorrow’s game right both emotionally as well as physically and give a couple of players a shot that they maybe not have had.

“Ebony has been amazing for us. She’s been here from the very start. Her and Linde van der Velden played in that very first game that was not even a league game up in Newcastle. She has been a real stalwart for us and has found her way into a coaching career alongside what we are doing on the playing field.

“Rachel is still in imperious form and has been amazing for us for nearly five years and hopefully we have affected her life in a really positive way. She certainly affected Chiefs in an unbelievably positive way, and we are sad to see her go but are happy for the next chapter whatever that is going to be for Rach, but first and foremost, she is going to go and represent USA Rugby at the World Cup.”

Tomorrow night’s backline sees winger Sabrina Poulin get a start while Claudia MacDonald is rested ahead of the Six Nations. Prop Charli Jacoby is also in the starting XV along with Dorothy Wall. Van der Velden misses out through with a knee injury.

Ready to make an impact from the bench will be fit again flanker Maisy Allen and fly-half Taylor Perry.

Meanwhile, captain and lock Poppy Leitch will go into this final game having entered the most rucks (428) and made the second-most tackles (211) in the PWR this season.

Fly-half Liv McGoverne has made more than 30 more kicks in play and 1,200 more kick-in-play metres than any other player this season.

And as a group, Chiefs have made the most tackles per 80 minutes this season (184) at a success rate of 81.9%. They have also won the second-most turnovers (8.2) per 80 minutes.