Sheehan set for champion challenge

By Harry Scott-Munro
15/1/22

When the defending champions are in town, you always need to up your game. 

For Exeter Chiefs Women’s winger Laura Sheehan, she insists that “there’s still more to do” for her side as they look to complete a first-ever Allianz Premier 15s double over Harlequins at Sandy Park on Sunday (2:30pm).

Last weekend against Sale Sharks, Sheehan and her team-mates secured a 43-7 victory at Heywood Road. But whilst delighted to come away with that triumph on the road, the Irish international insisted that her side were still looking to up their performance levels.

“There was a lot of good work last weekend," she said. "We’re feeling confident, but it’s about working on our execution and pushing on into this one [against Harlequins]. In training this week, we’ve been pushing hard to make sure we are at our best.”

The size of the task facing her side on Sunday is not lost on Sheehan, with the wing highlighting Harlequins’ strength all over the park.

“Quins are really strong upfront, but equally they have really exciting backs. They are really pacy, but also structured and controlled. We need to be at our best, really solid in defence but exciting in attack as well. It’s going to be a really physical encounter and they have threats everywhere but I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”

The Chiefs secured a 24-12 victory over the champions at the Stoop earlier in the season, with Sheehan scoring one of the tries of the season after the Chiefs threw caution to the wind from their own 22. The challenge of coming up against a backline laced with international stars was one that Sheehan relished that day and is equally excited about the prospect of happening again on Sunday.

“It was massive for us to beat them at the Stoop, but we also love playing at Sandy Park. It’s our home pitch, so we need to put in a big performance and push on,” she explained. “Their backline is really exciting to play against. It’s one that you can really challenge yourself against. [As a backline,] we’ve been working really well together for the past few weeks, so we’re looking forward to having that challenge and hopefully getting a few more tries.”

With just eight games left in the season, Head Coach Susie Appleby has strengthened her side with the arrivals of Hope Rogers and Gabby Senft - and competition for places is now higher than ever within the camp, something that Sheehan acknowledges can only be a good thing as her side continue to press at the top of the table.

“Gabby and Hope have been great. They’ve come in right at the deep end, but they’re experienced internationals so it’s great to have them,” Sheehan noted. “The competition for places in the squad is really good at the moment. There’s a real bite at training which is fantastic and just what we need, so we can continue to push on. It’s a really exciting time to be here right now.”