Exeter Chiefs Women

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Exeter Chiefs Women
Full nameExeter Chiefs Women's Rugby Football Club
UnionRFU
Founded2019
Ground(s) Sandy Park
Coach(es) Susie Appleby
Captain(s)Kate Zackary, Poppy Leitch
League(s) Premier 15s

Exeter Chiefs Women are a professional women's rugby union team based in Exeter, Devon, England. [1] They were founded in 2019 to take part in the Premier 15s, the top level of English women's rugby. They are based at Sandy Park and are affiliated to Premiership Rugby's Exeter Chiefs. The side is coached by Head Coach, Susie Appleby. [2] Kate Zackary and Poppy Leitch operate as co-captains of the side.

Contents

Creation

The creation of Exeter Chiefs Women was announced in September 2019 with former England women's national rugby union team players Susie Appleby and Amy Garnett announced as their first coaches. [1] Exeter Chiefs announced they would be spending £500,000 to set up the women's team ahead of a scheduled audit of the Premier 15s by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in the hopes they would be able to apply for a place in the league. [3] Their intent was to increase participation in rugby in Devon and Cornwall. [4]

In April 2020, as part of the review of the Premier 15s by the RFU, Exeter Chiefs Women were offered a place in the 2020-21 Premier 15s alongside Sale Sharks Women. [5] The move attracted controversy as Exeter and Sale gained their places at the expense of Waterloo Ladies and Richmond Women, [6] the latter of which was one of the most historically successful clubs in women's rugby. [5] [7] They were also criticised for not earning their place by promotion however some women's rugby analysts argued that women's rugby needed clubs that had the backing of professional men's sides in order to be viable in the long term. [7]

In their debut season, the side finished 6th in the Premier 15s. [8] In their second season, they reached the first final in their history, against Harlequins Women in the Allianz Cup.

Premier 15s

Upon announcement of the team joining the Premier 15s, player recruitment was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of internationals from various countries joined the club. [9] They played their first match in the Premier 15s against Gloucester-Hartpury Women. [10]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

PlayerPositionUnion
Clara Nielson Hooker Flag of England.svg England
Daisy French Hooker
Emily Tuttosi Hooker Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Laura Delgado Prop Flag of Spain.svg Spain
Hope Rogers Prop Flag of the United States.svg United States
Georgia Grimes Prop Flag of England.svg England
Sachiko Kato Prop Flag of Japan.svg Japan
Lauren Leatherland Prop Flag of England.svg England
Abby Middlebrooke Prop Flag of England.svg England
Jess Thomas Prop Flag of England.svg England
Michaella Roberts Prop Flag of England.svg England
Kayleigh Armstrong Lock Flag of England.svg England
Poppy Leitch Lock Flag of England.svg England
McKinley Hunt Lock Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Alia McCarthy Hooker
Abbie Fleming Lock Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Charlie Willett Lock Flag of England.svg England
Nichola Fryday Lock IRFU flag.svg Ireland
Ebony Jefferies Back row Flag of England.svg England
Rachel Johnson Back row Flag of the United States.svg United States
Maisy Allen Back row Flag of England.svg England
Eilidh Sinclair Back row Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland
Linde van der Velden Lock Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
Kate Zackary Back row Flag of the United States.svg United States
PlayerPositionUnion
Megan Davies Scrum-half Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Patricia García Scrum-half Flag of Spain.svg Spain
Brooke Bradley Scrum-half Flag of England.svg England
Flo Robinson Scrum-half Flag of England.svg England
Megan Foster Fly-half Flag of the United States.svg United States
Gabby Cantorna Centre Flag of the United States.svg United States
Zintle Mpupha Centre Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa
Lottie Holland Centre Flag of England.svg England
Louise Burgess Wing Flag of England.svg England
Charlotte Woodman Wing Flag of England.svg England
Jennine Detiveaux Wing Flag of the United States.svg United States
Gabby Gower Wing Flag of England.svg England
Garnet Mackinder Wing Flag of England.svg England
Laura Sheehan Wing IRFU flag.svg Ireland
Chloe Rollie Fullback Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland
Niamh Terry Fullback Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
Merryn Doidge Fullback Flag of England.svg England

Notable players

The following are players which have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup whilst playing for Exeter Chiefs:

TournamentPlayers selected England playersOther national team players
2021 Flag of New Zealand.svg 17 Claudia MacDonald Chloe Rollie, Eilidh Sinclair Flag of Scotland.svg , Robyn Wilkins, Abbie Fleming Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg , DaLeaka Menin, Emily Tuttosi, Gabrielle Senft, McKinley Hunt Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg , Silvia Turani Flag of Italy.svg , Charli Jacoby, Gabby Cantorna, Hope Rogers, Jennine Detiveaux, Megan Foster, Rachel Johnson, Kate Zackary (c) Flag of the United States.svg

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References

  1. 1 2 "Exeter Chiefs create professional women's rugby team". ITV. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Introduction". www.exeterchiefs.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  3. ↑ admin (24 September 2019). "Exeter Chiefs won't be the last club to establish women's team". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Pilnick, Brent (2 September 2019). "Women's Premier 15s: Exeter launch side in bid for league licence –". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs awarded Tyrrells Premier 15s status". The Telegraph. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.(subscription required)
  6. ↑ Orchard, Sara (6 April 2020). "Premier 15s: Sale and Exeter replace Richmond and Firwood Waterloo in women's top flight". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Spencer column: Cruel for Richmond but the game has moved on". The Rugby Paper. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "RFU". www.premier15s.com. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Exeter Chiefs' new women's team". Rugby World. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Two different Exeter Chiefs stories as Women make debut". Last Word on Sports. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
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