Cantorna delighted to be back in the mix
By Harry Scott-Munro
26/3/22
Exeter Chiefs Women’s centre Gabby Cantorna admitted that there have been some dark moments as she prepares to make her much anticipated comeback from injury against Loughborough Lightning in the Allianz Cup today (3pm).
Cantorna had been a mainstay in Susie Appleby’s side up until November when she was injured playing for the United States. Now though, she is back fully fit and hungrier than ever.
“I've never had a serious injury before, so it was big. It's a big few weeks. I'm looking forward to it. I've come back a lot sturdier, so there may be a bit more contact in my future than there used to be, but I'm looking forward to it.”
Cantorna did accept though, that it had been a tough period in her career, as she was forced to watch her teammates from the sidelines for the best part of five months.
“Rehab is certainly tough, but it's good to be out the other side. I was definitely in denial at first and trying to talk myself into thinking it wasn't that bad. You think you'll only miss a couple of days or a couple of weeks but then to find out its long-term means you have to make some big decisions,” she explained. “It's humbling to have your body not work the way you expect it to and have to rebuild it. I'm definitely different now and I've learnt a lot about myself.”
Faced with the choice of staying in the States or coming back to England, Cantorna explained how she felt it was better for her to be around the squad as she recovered from injury.
“Ultimately, it was better for me to be around the girls. From then on it was a case of figuring out the timeline and trying to push myself every day.”
Whilst Cantorna joked that she is “a very poor spectator” due to how invested she gets in the action on the field, the USA Eagle is now eager to make up for lost time.
“I’m really excited to get back to it,” she smiled. “I always prefer to be out there on the pitch. We'll be going up against some of the other USA internationals from Loughborough, so I'm looking forward to it. Putting in big hits on people you know is always just that little bit sweeter.”
The match against Loughborough offers Exeter an opportunity to right the wrongs of their narrow defeat to their Midlands opponents just over a month ago, with Cantorna excited by the prospect of reaching the semi-finals of the Allianz Cup.
“It was a great game to watch against Loughborough, but it was a tough ending. In the last 20 minutes, we let it flip on us but that's the exciting thing about these teams. You never know who's going to win each week,” she acknowledged. “It's good for us to have more games. We've got people in and out with international duty, so having more games has allowed us to build that depth and have more cover.”
Cantorna further praised the mentality within the squad, that has seen them bounce back from the disappointment of defeat at Franklin’s Gardens to register two thumping victories at Sandy Park.
“I think the strength of this team is in the girls themselves. Everyone is so positive, and we all try to pick each other up whenever we can. It's one of the reasons we've been so successful this year. It makes our training more intense and having this cup has been really good for the squad. It's kept people involved and engaged. It really helps with that month long gap as well.”
Whilst progress in the Allianz Cup and a continued fight on two fronts is a clear target for the side, Cantorna is adamant that the “mutual respect” within the camp has driven the side to new heights after their impressive debut campaign.
“We had a good first season last year. But coming into this year, there's been the hunger to push further because we knew we could. There's mutual respect for each other and for what we do week in week out. That's really helped us elevate our game.”