Zackary's joy as Chiefs lift the Cup
By Harry Scott-Munro
24/4/22
Exeter Chiefs Women’s co-captain Kate Zackary admitted that it had ‘been a long two years,’ as her side wrote their name into the record books, securing their first-ever silverware at Sandy Park.
After dispatching Bristol Bears last weekend at Sandy Park, the Chiefs were in no mood to let the momentum drop, as they ran in nine tries to secure the Allianz Cup in fine style, defeating rivals Harlequins 57-12 in front of just over 2,000 supporters.
The rout was started by American prop Hope Rogers who, after her double, has now scored an impressive nine tries in as many games for the club. Further scores followed from Linde van der Velden, Patricia Garcia, Emily Tuttosi, Gabby Senft, Kanako Kobayashi and Gabby Senft, with Exeter’s very own ‘Captain America’ Zackary also bagging a brace, to take her past 100 points for the club.
Reflecting on the journey so far, Zackary admitted that she and her team-mates had been ‘that unexpected team’ at times throughout their journey, with the cup victory capping an almost ‘Cinderella-like story.’
“We’re really growing the sport down here in Devon,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of local girls and a lot of girls in the English set-up, alongside a number of internationals. It’s all about bringing everyone up together and then growing our depth as well.”
Roared on by the largest crowd to ever attend a women’s club match in Devon, the Chiefs firmly turned the tide in their favour right before half-time, as Zackary pounced for her first of the afternoon after a stunning break from back-row colleague Maisy Allen.
Zackary admitted that the squad have been focusing on shifting the pendulum in their favour and admitted that her score was a crucial one as her side headed into the changing rooms for half-time.
“We always talk about momentum swings and how you can go in at half-time with that belief. We always want to be ahead and ultimately, that was a big swing,” she explained. “We found a way in those last couple of minutes to change the momentum and that then propelled us into the second half.”
Zackary and her team-mates were roared on by a crowd in excess of 2,000 at Sandy Park, on an afternoon that firmly made that point that women’s rugby had well and truly arrived in the Westcountry.
The USA Eagle admitted that the first half especially, was tough going for her side, but she felt that the support from the crowd was a crucial factor, as her side cut loose in the second half.
“We’re fuelled by the fans in the stands and how loud they are. That first half was really tough, but then coming back out in the second half and feeding off of the energy from the crowd and ourselves, you saw a lot of people go over the whitewash.”
Despite the landmark victory, this Chiefs squad are a group that still retain lofty ambitions in the league. Huge assignments against the current top two of Saracens and Bristol remain and, Zackary being the experienced character that she is, was already looking ahead to where her side could sharpen up ahead of those two crucial league fixtures.
“There’s something to be said about looking to improve on those first twenty minutes,” she noted. “Sometimes we can be a bit slow and make a few too many errors. But, once we find our groove and we stay there and we’re in a good place, especially with that impact off the bench. There’re things to work on ahead of the premiership games in May. But today, I have to give credit to the girls and the bench who made a huge impact.”
Zackary laughed when admitting that the group would ‘have a good time tonight,’ but, ever the perfectionist, she also acknowledged that there were ‘always things we have to work on.’
For now, though, Zackary and the rest of the group are able to enjoy their moment with their name in lights. Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, and for all of the success that will hopefully follow, Saturday stands as a landmark day. The day when Exeter Chiefs Women secured their first silverware, and firmly announced their arrival as a big hitter in the women’s game.