Harlequins Women v Exeter Chiefs Women

33 v 14

KO

5 5

12 12

20 20

36 50

50 61

61 70

70 FT

Results

Team	Tries	Conversions	BP	Points	Outcome
Harlequins Women	5	4	1	33	Win
Exeter Chiefs Women	2	2	—	14	Loss

Review

Wasps’ Preview.

This weekend Wasps Women welcome Exeter Chiefs to Twyford Avenue in their second clash of the season.

In their previous meeting this season, it was a game of two halves with Exeter coming back in the second half to win on their home turf. However, fuelled by a fearless second half in their recent fixture against Loughborough Lightning, Wasps are raring and ready to turn the tables this weekend.

Wasps Women’s Director of Rugby, Giselle Mather has named her team for the weekend which includes the return of Welsh Internationals Flo Williams and Gemma Rowland and a debut appearance for Irish International Shannon Touhey.

Cliodhna returns to the match day squad to join Heather Kerr and Maud Muir in the front row. Sam Monaghan and Ciara Cooney remain in the second row and in the back row, Christiana Balogun returns to the starting line up after last week’s fiery second half performance to join Rowena Burnfield and Helene Caux.

Back in her natural habitat, Sammy Wong will start at scrum half with Williams returning to start at 10. Rowland returns to play at 12 alongside Claire Molloy who will captain the squad from 13. Rosie Wright and Jess Cooksey move out to the wings to join Abby Dow in the back three.

Bryony Cleall heads up the bench alongside fellow forward replacements Mica Evans and Kanyinsola Adefemiwa Afilaka. After a feisty stint off the bench last week, Melanie Combebias is set to add some French fire to the forwards alongside Kay Searcy. Touhey will make her debut off the bench as a back replacement alongside Lucy Nye and Emily Stone.

“The opportunity to play against the Chiefs’ star studded International team is always a challenge the squad look forward to. We have had some very close encounters with them that have been decided in the closing moments and I am sure Saturday will be no different”

Giselle Mather, Director of Rugby

The match will be streamed live on Premier 15s and the BBC for a 12:30pm KO. Tickets are also available on our website.

Livestream: https://www.premier15s.com/news/article/live–12th-round-of-allianz-premier-15s

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wasps-women-vs-exeter-chiefs-tickets-167917061451?aff=erelexpmlt

MATCH REPORT FROM WASPS

MATCH REPORT BY HOLLY FOSKETT

Exciting Battle See Wasps Force Exeter into Stalemate.

Wasps put on a show for a familiar Twyford Avenue crowd, fighting to the end to equalize with top three team Exeter Chiefs.

From the off, Wasps proved themselves the dominant force, annihilating Exeter’s scrum to secure themselves early possession. Penalties racked up against Exeter in the opening minutes, however an overthrow at the line out let Exeter loose.

It was Exeter that put the first points on the board driving from a line out to take themselves over for the try. However, with the wind making for a tricky conversion, there were only five points in it.

After a dominant string of defensive play, led by the likes of Ciara Cooney and Christiana Balogun, it was soon Wasps turn to paint the scoreboard. Wasps secured the ball from a lineout and the forwards continued their way towards the line setting the stage for Maud Muir to take it over. A conversion from Williams edged Wasps into the lead.

Chiefs were quick to respond, sneaking in another try in the final minutes of the half. With a penalty in hand, Kate Zachary took it quickly and the team worked it wide to Mpupha who took it over the line to set the half time score at 7-10.

Wasps continue to turn up the heat from the second half whistle, their pressure in defense forcing errors from Exeter and securing them early possession. Then, Exeter found themselves one short after Zachary was awarded a yellow card for infringement in the breakdown.

Credit where credit is due, Exeter made lemonade out of lemons and worked their way up the field with 14 players and converted their frustration into points putting them ahead by 8 points.

Twelve minutes into the second half, hard work paid off when Wasps broke back into the game, this time it was Bryony Cleall who found a gap in Exeter’s defense to break over the line for the points.

With three points in it, it was a tense final quarter of the game. Wasps found themselves on the receiving end of the referees pocket and Bryony Cleall found herself 10 minutes in the sin bin.

With three minutes left in the game it was the composure and skill of Williams that secured the crucial three points for Wasps in pressurized windy conditions to force Exeter into a stalemate. The final score ended with 15 points a piece.

“I’m really proud of the response from the girls following last weekend’s disappointment. We still have some areas to work on but it was a positive step forward for the team going into the latter stages of Allianz Premier 15s. ”

Claire Molloy, Captain

Next week Wasps will hit the road to face DMP Durham Sharks in which they hope to continue in the same fearsome fashion that we saw today!

Chiefs’ Preview.

Two weeks on from downing reigning Allianz Premier 15s champions Harlequins, London’s Calling again for Exeter Chiefs Women, as they make the trip to Twyford Avenue to take on Wasps tomorrow (12.30pm).

With the blood pressures having finally lowered after those tense final moments at Sandy Park a fortnight ago, the visitors look set to go again with reflection and a target to improve now firmly at the forefront of the mind.

Indeed, once the dust had settled following Patricia Garcia’s last-gasp heroics, assistant coach Steve Salvin admitted that the side had been somewhat disappointed with their performance on the day.

“It was a great result, but not really a brilliant performance,” he said. “We understand the significance of that victory over Quins’, even though we didn’t play that well. There was a great atmosphere at Sandy Park, but it’s a different challenge this weekend with Wasps.”

That result at Sandy Park made sure that the Chiefs remained in third place in the Allianz Premier 15s table, following previous victories over Sale Sharks and DMP Durham Sharks. Whilst Salvin admits that performances haven’t quite been at the level the side would have hoped, he accepted that it had still “been a good period results wise.”

“You take winning every week and playing poorly over playing fantastically well and losing. But in an ideal world, you want a combination of the two, where your results are because of your performances. We don’t really feel we’ve been playing that well. In a way, that’s a positive thing though, as results are the main thing.”

With seven games still to play in the regular season, the hunt for the play-offs is firmly on. Following tomorrow’s encounter with Wasps, Exeter face trips to Gloucester-Hartpury and Loughborough, with all three sides firmly in the play-off hunt. And as the league looks set to see one of the tightest play-off races in recent memory, Salvin explained how his side were continuing to focus on taking it a game at a time.

“We’re not thinking about the play-offs too much,” he added. “We’re looking at week-to-week performances and, hopefully, that will put us in the right position. You’re always conscious of it [the league standings.] The next three games will be a real indicator of how tough it will be. You look at our next three games against Wasps, Gloucester-Hartpury and Loughborough, all of them will have the same ambitions of getting into the top four.”

Last season at Twyford Avenue, the Chiefs withstood a Meg Jones inspired onslaught from the hosts to secure a famous 31-29 victory. And after Wasps suffered a home defeat to Loughborough Lightning last weekend, the Chiefs will be all too conscious of the potential backlash from that result.

Salvin has challenged his side to find another level to their performance, with fear of results slipping away a very real prospect.

“We need to improve. It was a great result against Quins but if we continue to perform at that level, we will ultimately come unstuck. There’re numerous areas of the game we can improve but that has been the constant aim. The fact that we aren’t quite at it gives us real scope to develop still.”

Despite the constant drive for improvement, Salvin has seen some pleasing parts of recent performances, praising a “really good” defensive display last time out against Harlequins.

Ahead of kick-off, Salvin and Head Coach Susie Appleby have been forced into a number of changes. In the backline, Garnet Mackinder replaces Jennine Detiveaux on the wing, whist Nancy McGillivray returns to the starting line-up in place of Meg Foster. McGillivray’s inclusion sees a slight reshuffle elsewhere in the backs with Flo Robinson moving to fly-half and penalty hero Garcia returning to the more familiar position of scrum-half.

There are two further changes in the pack with Clara Nielson starting at hooker after impressing off the bench against Harlequins and Nichola Fryday taking up the position in the second row, with Abbie Fleming reverting to the bench.

Amongst the replacements, Eilidh Sinclair returns to the match-day side, whilst there could also be first appearances of the season for Welsh pair Meg Davies and Niamh Terry.

Having arrived at the club a little over two months ago, Salvin has helped tweak several facets of the Chiefs game and explained how overseeing more than one part of the game had left him with some slightly mixed emotions in recent weeks.

“I’ve been saying with Susie, it’s a bit of a funny one. Coaching different facets of the game, with the line-out and defence, you can go away from games really happy with one element and frustrated with another. I didn’t feel we were great at maul time against Quins, but our defence was really good. You can go away with a bit of a mixed view from certain games.”

Salvin ,though, did admit that he and Appleby had been making “tweaks rather than changes” with the improvements from that starting to show.

“We’ve seen the benefits of the tweaks over a short period of time. We’ve still got improvements to make though, which we need to ahead of the business end of the season.”

By Harry Scott-Munro

28/1/22

MATCH REPORT FROM CHIEFS

Harry Scott-Munro at Twyford Avenue

Exeter Chiefs Women were made to pay the penalty as Flo Williams’ late shot helped seals Wasps Women a share of the spoils in this hard-fought Allianz Premier 15s encounter.

In a tight and abrasive match, tries from Clara Nielson, Zinlte Mpupha and Rachel Johnson looked to have secured Chiefs the victory, only for scores from Maud Muir and Bryony Cleall, along with five points from the boot of Williams to leave the match level.

Coming into the match, Head Coach Susie Appleby made a number of changes to her side, with Nielson, Nichola Fryday, Nancy McGillivray and Garnet Mackinder all handed starts in the wake of their last-gasp victory over defending champions Harlequins.

Wasps were desperate to right the wrongs of last weekend’s defeat to Loughborough Lightning and they started the fastest, as a concession of penalties from the Chiefs at the breakdown allowed Williams to kick her side into an attacking position.

The Chiefs, though, were resolute in defence and looked to spark an attack of their own, only for Wasps to force a knock on. It was a cagey opening period from both sides, as they looked to adjust to the swirling wind.

Penalties and ill-discipline were costing the Chiefs in the early exchanges, as the boot of Williams was finding grass in positions where Exeter were struggling to re-adjust.

For Exeter though, an overthrown line-out provided a huge let-off and it seemed to spark the side into life. Quick thinking from Flo Robinson allowed Mackinder to make ground down the wing, before a bludgeoning carry in midfield from Mpupha left Wasps at sixes and sevens.

The Chiefs were in the mood now and after Garcia had kicked to the corner from a penalty, the pack made no mistake, as they drove over from close range, Nielson the player to pop up with the ball.

That try was merely a brief respite from the Wasps onslaught, as the hosts were straight back on the attack through Gemma Rowland and Abby Dow. Dow is one of the most elusive runners in the game, but she was kept relatively quiet throughout the match thanks to the defensive work of Merryn Doidge and Laura Sheehan.

The Irish wing was involved in the attack soon after as well, as she broke free down the short-side and looked to find Kate Zackary on the inside, only for the ball to not quite connect.

Exeter were still huffing and puffing away with ball in hand, as Mackinder made important metres down the wing, but they were still somewhat feeding off of scraps.

They almost took one of those opportunities on the half hour mark, as Mpupha almost managed to gather a loose pass in midfield from Wasps.

Whilst that opportunity went begging, the hosts then fired a shot of their own, as they made the most of a series of breakdown lapses from the Chiefs, to kick themselves to within sight of the try line. Exeter’s defence held firm for as long as it could, but eventually Muir was able to rummage over, Williams adding the extras to see her side hit the front.

The Exeter response though was instant, as they made sure they would go in at half-time ahead, as Mpupha scored her second try in two games. An initial burst from Garcia left Wasps scrambling, with hard carries from Zackary and Johnson creating space for the ball to be worked out to Mpupha to dart over.

HALF-TIME SCORE: WASPS WOMEN 7 EXETER CHIEFS WOMEN 10

The second half saw Wasps begin with the same intensity as they had begun the first period, with the referee not impressed with Exeter’s work at the breakdown. With the hosts marching towards the Chiefs line, Zackary thought she had managed to execute a crucial turnover for her side, only for the referee to send her to the bin, for what was deemed an illegal turnover.

Exeter’s defence continued to stand up to the waves of Wasps attacks, with a huge hit from DaLeaka Menin and Doidge forcing a knock-on.

As Wasps continued to attack, they suffered a blow as second row Cooney stayed down after a heavy collision. After a delay to proceedings, the second row let the field on a stretcher, before Johnson secured a crucial turnover.

Even with Zackary off the field, Exeter’s driving game was causing chaos for Wasps, as they continually infringed trying to stop it moving forwards at a rate of knots. That allowed Garcia to continue to kick her side up the field, with a third devastating maul seeing Johnson dot down and stretch the lead.

Again though, Exeter shot themselves in the foot from the restart, as they spilt the ball forward, allowing Wasps to again hammer at the door. They would score their second of the match shortly after as well, replacement Bryony Cleall barrelling over from close range to reduce the deficit; Williams’ conversion hitting the post.

Exeter were now back up to a full compliment of players and again, the maul was causing damage. As Wasps struggled to cope with the onslaught from the Chiefs pack, Cleall saw yellow, as the referee ran out of patience with the Wasps penalty count.

This was the moment for Exeter to re-establish a larger advantage, as they searched for a bonus point score. It wasn’t to be though, as the ball was lost forward.

Chiefs still kept the pressure on, as Johnson charged down Williams, but the American was just unable to gather the ball before it went dead.

With time ticking away, Exeter were sent tracking back after a clever dink from Williams, before they gave up possession at the ruck.

Williams slotted the simple penalty to level the tie and, despite a late effort from Exeter to try and set up a position for some more last-minute heroics, it wasn’t to be, as the match ended all square.

In some ways, the result may well feel like a defeat, having led for so long in the match. Despite that though, the two points gained could still prove crucial come the final reckoning.

Harlequins Women

#	Player	Position	TRY	CON
1	Vickii Cornborough	Prop	1 (20')	0
2	Amy Cokayne	Hooker	0	0
3	Shaunagh Brown	Prop	1 (12')	0
4	Abbie Ward (nee Scott)	Lock	0	0
5	Fiona Fletcher	Lock	0	0
6	Emily Robinson	Back Row	0	0
7	Bethan Dainton	Back Row	0	0
8	Sarah Beckett	Back Row	1 (5')	0
9	Leanne Infante (née Riley)	Scrum Half	0	0
10	Ellie Green	Fly Half	0	4 (5', 12', 20', 50')
11	Jess Breach	Wing	0	0
12	Rachael Burford	Centre	0	0
13	Lagi Tuima	Centre	1 (36')	0
14	Heather Cowell	Wing	0	0
15	Emily Scott	Full Back	0	0
16	Elle Bloor	Hooker	0	0
17	Tove Viksten	-	0	0
18	Chloe Edwards	Prop	0	0
19	Alice Sheffield	Back Row	0	0
20	Katy Mew	-	0	0
21	Lucy Packer	-	1 (50')	0
22	Isobel Mayhew	-	0	0
23	Bethany Wilcock	-	0	0
	Total		5	4

Exeter Chiefs Women

#	Player	Position	TRY	CON
1	Michaella Roberts	Prop	0	0
3	Lauren Leatherland	Prop	0	0
4	Poppy Leitch	Lock	0	0
5	McKinley Hunt	Lock	0	0
7	Kate Zachary	Back Row	0	0
8	Linde Van Der Velden	Back Row	0	0
9	Flo Robinson	Scrum Half	0	0
10	Taylor Black	Fly Half	0	0
11	Garnet Mackinder	Wing	0	0
12	Gabby Cantorna	Centre	0	0
13	Lauren Cattell	Centre	0	2 (61', 70')
14	Lottie Holland	Wing	0	0
15	Merryn Doidge	Full Back	0	0
16	Charlie Budge	Hooker	0	0
17	Olivia De merchant	Prop	1 (61')	0
18	Jess Thomas	Prop	0	0
19	Laura Delgado	TH Prop	0	0
20	Kayleigh Armstrong	-	1 (70')	0
21	Daisy French	Hooker	0	0
22	Patricia Garcia	Scrum Half	0	0
23	Louise Burgess	Wing	0	0
	Total		2	2

TRY

5		2

CON

4		2

CON %

0		0

PEN

0		0

PEN %

0		0

DG

0		0

DG %

0		0

OVERALL %

0		0

KICKED PTS

0		0

TACKLES

0		0

CARRIES

0		0

PASSES

0		0

METRES

0		0

YC

0		0

RC

0		0

Details

Date	Time	League	Season
24/10/2020	2:00 pm	Premier 15s	2020-21

Venue

Surrey Sports Park

A3, Guildford GU2, UK

Harlequins Women v Exeter Chiefs Women