Appleby poised for last four showdown
By Mark Stevens
6/6/23
Susie Appleby says her Exeter Chiefs Women’s side are ‘feeling confident’ ahead of Sunday’s crunch Allianz Premier 15s semi-final against Saracens Women at Sandy Park (3pm).
Already assured of a place in the last four ahead of last weekend’s trip to league leaders Gloucester-Hartpury, the Chiefs produced one of their best displays of the season so far to topple the Cherry & Whites 58-19 on their own patch.
Exeter’s eight-try victory not only ensured they finished the regular season in second spot for a second successive year but, more importantly, ensured they would have home advantage against the reigning champions in the play-offs.
American prop Hope Rogers led the way for the Chiefs, scoring four tries, whilst compatriot Kate Zackary took her season tally to 18 with another double. Also on the mark for the visitors were Emily Tuttosi and Brooke Bradley.
Now, the Chiefs – who defeated Saracens at Sandy Park in the Allianz Cup Final earlier this season – will be hoping for more of the same in what will be a fourth meeting between the two clubs this season.
"Sarries have never been to us and won and we've never been to Sarries and won," said Appleby. "So to bring them to Sandy Park for a home semi in front of our amazing crowd is pretty huge.
"We're both very strong sides, as we know a semi-final is knockout time and anything can happen on the day, but we're going to give it our best shot on Sunday."
With a bumper crowd expected to pack into Sandy Park, Appleby – whose side have never lost on home turf to the Londoners – is hoping her side can continue their trend and secure their place in the final against either Gloucester-Hartpury or Bristol Bears, who meet in the other semi-final on Saturday afternoon.
"There's lots of factors that are going to contribute to the performance on Sunday, but we're really happy to have got ourselves into that home semi-final berth,” added Appleby.
"We'll give it our best shot. Of course, we're confident - we beat Saracens in the cup final at Sandy Park and we had a win on the road against Gloucester - we've got some good momentum coming into this game, and so have Saracens.
"It's play-off time, it's knockout and we're feeling confident and excited."
With both sides expected to be at full-strength, Sunday’s showdown promises to be a mouth-watering match-up between two of the game’s biggest sides.
"In terms of style of play we love to move the ball, as do Saracens, so I hope it's going to make for a really good game on Sunday," said Appleby. "The collision area is huge. Whoever can get ascendency in that area is probably going to give themselves the best chance of winning the game.
Season Tickets Holders and Under-16s can gain FREE entry to Sunday’s game. For paying adults, it’s £10.