Exeter Chiefs aim for Premier 15s play-offs after impressive inaugural season
- Published
Exeter's women have impressed in their debut season, with wins over top sides such as Saracens and Harlequins
"One hundred percent, year two is top four, and we won't accept anything less." That is the ambitious aim of Exeter's head coach Susie Appleby.
The newly-formed side had their highs and lows in a Covid-affected first season in Premier 15s rugby, but they were certainly not there just to make up the numbers.
After a slow start as they started to gel - Exeter suffered five defeats in their first seven games - they went on a seven-game winning run from the end of December.
In late January they inflicted a first league loss on champions Saracens since October 2018 and beat runners-up Harlequins a week later.
But a dip at the end of the season, caused by injuries to key players, saw Exeter finish sixth with 10 wins from 18 games, level on points with fifth-placed Gloucester-Hartpury - Appleby's former side.
"I was pleased overall, but I'm frustrated that we gave ourselves a shot and then missed out," Appleby told BBC Sport as she looked back on her first season in charge.
"I've been in this league for three years, so I now how important bonus points are, but I don't think the girls had a grasp of it. But they do now.
"The girls are very excited to get going again in the summer. There was lots achieved, but a bit of disappointment in the end which will set us up."
Pride at England call-ups
Cornish-born Merryn Doidge moved to Exeter from Bristol before the start of the season
Exeter's inaugural squad was a mix of homegrown potential and seasoned international experience.
The likes of United States players Kate Zackary and Gabby Cantorna, the Netherlands' Linde van der Velden, Japanese prop Sachiko Kato, Spain scrum-half Patricia Garcia and Canada's Taylor Black provided the backbone.
But a group of locally recruited players stepped up to the challenge of playing top-flight rugby, with the club getting their first England call-ups in Cornish full-back Merryn Doidge and 19-year-old scrum-half Flo Robinson.
"We're so proud," Appleby said of the two England call-ups.
"Merryn's always been on the radar. She played at Bristol and come up through Cornwall, but she's really blossomed this season and enjoyed herself. And if you enjoy yourself you'll do well.
"It wasn't lip-service they were picking her - she's earned the right to get into an England camp, and England have said they've both been playing really well and have since been picked again.
"We wanted to be competitive and I knew the likes of Kate Zackery and Patricia Garcia would allow us to do that.
"But the pleasing thing players like Merryn and Flo, the young players, have looked up to those players and said 'I want to do that'. They've watched what they do and they've copied."
'The buzz will grow'
Susie Appleby has led Exeter's women since the club formally announced their plans for a Premier 15s side in September 2019
Exeter's inaugural season was played out during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Adapted laws such as 35-minute halves were used to minimise the spread of the virus, which had caused the previous season to be declared null and void in March 2020.
Exeter's women had only one chance to play in front of a crowd - 1,141 people saw them beat fellow new side Sale 38-0 in late December when spectators were briefly allowed back into grounds before Christmas.
But despite the lack of chances to see the team, Appleby feels Exeter have captured the imagination of the fans.
"The support on social media has been immense, both here and overseas," she said.
"Devon and Cornwall love rugby and love the Chiefs and don't care if it's men or women playing.
"It was nice to have that crowd in that day and the girls really felt it, and the crowd really appreciated them, but the sad point was that for the most part nobody was there
"I know we'll start to get more and more people through those doors and the buzz will grow and we'll show what Exeter Chiefs is."
If Exeter can get big crowds and cause more upsets, who is to say Appleby's aim of making the play-offs next season is not a realistic ambition.