Chiefs Women to face Wasps

By Mark Stevens
26/5/23

Exeter Women’s assistant coach Steve Salvin has challenged his Chiefs side to ‘rebuild momentum’ ahead of the upcoming Allianz Premier 15s play-offs next month.

Back-to-back losses to Saracens and Bristol Bears have seen the Chiefs not only surrender top position to Gloucester-Hartpury but, more importantly, have seen Saracens move to within three points of them in the current standings.

With just two rounds of the regular season remaining, seven points or more will ensure the Devonians will have the crucial home advantage for their last four encounter.

Tomorrow, the Chiefs will be looking to put a significant dent into that points quest when bottom club Wasps are the visitors to Sandy Park (1pm). The Londoners have yet to win this season and with just one point accrued from their 16 games, it’s a contest in which the hosts really must deliver.

“The mood within the team is good,” said Salvin. “The girls are pretty consistent in that form, whatever the results, and they are a fun group to work with. Equally, we’re conscious that at some stage in the season we knew we would hit a little bit of adversity.

“When that happens, it’s good to see what the levels of resilience are within the group. Looking at this week, the first impressions are pretty good and now we’re looking forward to the weekend and seeing how we go in trying to get things back on track.”

Although disappointed with the two recent losses, Salvin and head coach Susie Appleby believe it won’t take too much tinkering to rediscover the winning formula ahead of the crucial run-in.

“Yes, we’re disappointed to have lost both games, but we’ve been competitive in both and we know where certain issues lie,” added Salvin. “Now, we’ve just got to rebuild that momentum for the final two league game and the semi-final, which we know we’re already in.

“To do that, we’ve got to make sure we put in a big performance this weekend. The first part of that starts with our preparation, which I have to say, I can’t fault this week. The girls have been spot on with everything and by doing that, they’ve given themselves the best chance for the weekend.”

Although the personnel remains largely unchanged from a week ago, the Chiefs have taken the opportunity to give a handful of players the chance to get some crucial game minutes under their belt.

Explaining a few of the changes, Salvin continued: “Some of it’s down to rotation, some of it’s because we want to reward others who are playing well. For those coming in, we don’t want to go into those real, high-pressure games of rugby not having minutes under their belts.

“We know it would be a big ask for someone to suddenly come in from the cold and expect them to be at a certain level. That’s why this weekend offers us the ideal opportunity to get some players some significant game time under their belts and in the bank. We want to make sure they are battle hardened as such, especially if they are called upon in these next few weeks.”