Chiefs Women to face Harlequins
By James Fowler
21/10/22
Exeter Chiefs Women’s Head Coach Susie Appleby says she was ‘really pleased’ with the character of her side as they produced a late comeback at Gloucester-Hartpury to keep control of their Allianz Cup pool.
Clara Nielson’s last-gasp score was the second of two late tries the Chiefs scored at the ALPAS Arena to secure a 24-20 victory.
Now, the reigning Cup holders will be looking to cement their semi-final spot by overcoming Harlequins at Sandy Park this Sunday (3pm).
Reflecting on the win over Gloucester-Hartpury, Appleby said: “Well I think the girls did really well to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, because it was quite a game of ebbing and flowing from both teams’ perspective.
“To get hold of the game in the last 10 minutes, score a couple of tries and get the win, is massively important for the young group, and they deserve it, they’ve been working really hard. To go on the road to Hartpury and come away with a win and a bonus point win was really pleasing.”
Appleby stated that she believed the ability to turn that game around with just ten minutes remaining was down to a mixture of belief, fitness and leadership within the squad. However, she was also keen to point out the influence that some of the Chiefs men’s performances from this season have had on the squad.
“I think it’s that belief thing,” she added. “When 70 minutes are done, ok well we’ve got 10 to go. They really believe in each other. Their fitness is showing as well, there’s some really fit players out there.
“I think a bit of it comes from what the boys are doing as well. Having watched some of their never-say-die performances, where they think actually we’re in this and there’s plenty of time. That comes I think from the leadership group, they’re all young players, but there’s some who are a little bit older and a bit more experienced just grabbing the game and going come on girls we’ve got this.”
Appleby was full of praise for the energy and enjoyment her young squad are showing; however she was keen to make sure her side put in a good performance in front of a home Sandy Park crowd on Sunday.
“I think they’re gaining a lot of confidence, there’s new folk in, we’ve only had three games together now. Obviously Cli (Cliodhna Moloney) has had a big influence at hooker, Tricky (Edel McMahon) coming back in playing at seven last weekend was phenomenal. Those kinds of experienced players, together with Nic (Nichola Fryday) and now Linde (Linde Van Der Velden) coming back into the fold, Poppy’s (Poppy Leitch) already there and Ebs (Ebony Jefferies) is playing well, so the pack are really starting to motor.
“There’s also good competition at 9 & 10 between Brooke (Brooke Bradley) and Flo (Flo Robinson) and obviously Brooke is going to get the start this weekend. And young players really coming of age, so Nancy (Nancy McGillivray) is showing quite a lot of influence in a game and Sophie (Sophie Langford) is sitting alongside her at age 18 going ‘ok give me the ball and let’s see what I can do’.
“I think there’s lot of energy coming through the group and they’re enjoying themselves, so with Sophie, she’s really enjoying it and that’s what we want to do, we want to enjoy it.
“We want to put hopefully another good performance in this Sunday, we left a lot out there against Worcester, so we want to make sure we show the crowd who we are, not that performance back a few weeks ago, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Despite the difficult start to the season Quins have had, losing their first two games to Worcester and Gloucester-Hartpury, Appleby said she was expecting an “all-court game” from the visitors.
“They’re having an interesting season; every club is having an interesting season. There’s people away, there’s new players, there’s new faces, there’s new coaching set-ups.
“Good players is what we expect, along with a really physical encounter. They always bring massive physicality and you know there’s pace in abundance, and good creativity as well, so an all-court game is what we’ll expect. Hopefully, the weather stays dry and we can put a good game together.”
