Chiefs side to face Worcester Warriors
By James Fowler
17/2/23
Exeter Chiefs Women’s Head Coach Susie Appleby says her side are in ‘a good place’ following nine consecutive bonus point victories, which sees the Devonians sitting second in the Allianz Premier 15s table, just three points behind leaders Gloucester-Hartpury.
The Chiefs will travel to Sixways tomorrow following a week’s break, to take on the Worcester Warriors (4pm), a side which the Chiefs dispatched with ease 62-18 when the teams last met in December.
However, Appleby spoke about how conscious she is of the threats the team from the West Midlanders will bring.
“Worcester’s a tough place to go. They’ve been through some tough times, which only brings the squad closer,” she said. “They are a good side, the position in the table doesn’t reflect the level of talent that’s in the squad.
“We’ve been prepping as we do for every game. We’re quite changed up from round three when we played them last, and they are very different as well. We’re in a good place, but we’re very conscious of the threat that they can bring.”
The Chiefs secured a dominant 61-0 victory over the DMP Sharks in their last outing at Sandy Park a couple of weeks ago to maintain their lofty status in the Premier 15s. That said, despite the emphatic final scoreline Appleby was slightly critical of some aspects of that performance, especially in the first half, and she believes starting well tomorrow will be a key factor in making sure they come away from Sixways with a positive result.
“It was game five of quite a long run of games. Getting emotionally up and keeping that consistent and aligning that with the accuracy on the field, which was a little bit lacking in the first half against Darlington, but I think parts of that half and certainly the second half really showed who we are.
“But, as I said, we can’t start slow on the weekend, we’ve got to get into them, we’ve got to be ready, we’ve got to be raring to go and the feeling is good, I think we’re ready to go.”
Appleby was keen to emphasise what a great group this current Chiefs Women’s squad are to coach, with their positivity and cohesion seemingly making a devastatingly potent combination which is reflecting in the fantastic run of form the team is producing.
“There’s excitement always, smiles on faces always which is why they’re such a brilliant group to coach and with that comes just some brilliant performances on the field.
“There’s a really nice cohesion, which probably this time last year we weren’t seeing both in attack and defence, but that has to be maintained for 80 minutes. There’s some really pleasing stuff, there’s always stuff to work on, but as I’ve said we’ve put ourselves in a really good position to take on Worcester at the weekend.”
The achievements of the Chiefs Women have been pretty extraordinary when you consider that this is only their third-ever season of existence and reflecting on her time at the helm, Appleby spoke of the factors which have allowed her team to keep progressing forward.
“We’re in our third season and a lot of these players are now in their third seasons and those that have joined have been able to just move forwards with the main group, and that’s put us in a really good position.
“Continuity is everything, so the same people doing the same things, the attacking shape, the defensive shape. Subtle changes but not too many of them. I think their game understanding has improved as we’ve moved forward and they’re doing more of the work which is important because they’re the ones that take the field and that is showing as well.
“We’re not the finished article by any means and that’s the challenge, how do we keep moving forward because people are always going to keep catching up with you, so we’re in a great position now, but you’re only as good as the last time you take the field, so on Saturday we want to make sure it’s a really good performance.”
Another key feature of this current Chiefs squad has been the strength in depth and the competition for places in every match day squad and Appleby believes the internal competition is bringing out the best in the team.
“The pack are incredible, the competition for the prop shirts, for the hooker shirt, we’re leaving really good players off the field. Equally, the back-row is unbelievable, it’s so competitive that Kate Zackary is playing in the centre, but she’s a brilliant centre!
“Liv McGoverne has really found her straps, she’s been playing really well, Flo’s (Robinson) playing really well, so I think the competition is bringing out the best in ourselves, which is great because sometimes you can find that competitive edge knocks you down a bit, but it’s only building us and we’re growing as a squad, and with that competition every single week there’s no one sitting on their heels, there’s no one taking it for granted that they’re going to be on the team sheet.”
It is no secret that the Chiefs have attracted some exceptional international players into their fold, however what is becoming increasingly evident is the amount of local talent that this region is now producing, with six Exeter College players being selected for the latest England U18s training group, which only goes to highlight what a positive future the Chiefs women are likely to have for years to come.
“Six in the U18s, six in the U20s (England squads). You have overlaps between the Exeter University squad and our squad, so Katie Buchanan, Lizzie Hanlon, they’re overlapping into Chiefs, and then on the first team field Merryn Doidge is getting better and better, Flo Robinson, Maisy Allen, all those young local players are doing so well,” continued Appleby.
“Coming in behind will be the next generation, so some of those U20s, Sophie Langford, Danielle Preece, they’re the future and that’s what incredibly exciting for them to be a part of because they’re learning from the best and they’re finding their groove.”
