Wasps Women 15 Exeter Chiefs Women 15
At times it resembled more of a wrestling match, but in the end it was Flo Williams’s nerveless kick at the death which stung Exeter and ensured that the spoils of this topsy-turvy contest were shared.
These are the pressure moments that the women’s top flight thrives off. More than half a million people have watched some form of Premier 15s action this season, courtesy of the fact that one game each week is now being streamed on BBC iPlayer.
On this occasion, many thousands more will have seen Williams’s pressure kick split the posts in the final seconds and defy the blustery conditions which had severely disrupted the Wasps line-out earlier on in the game.
It was that thought which was at the forefront of Giselle Mather’s mind when she quietly nodded at Williams from the touchline to take the three points. “I always have that in my head,” said Wasps’ director of rugby on the significance of the match being broadcast on iPlayer. “Flo loves those moments – she would have backed herself to do that.”
Ironically, Exeter had enjoyed the same fortune just a fortnight ago, when Patricia Garcia kicked a penalty at the death to secure a statement win over champions Harlequins. They did not experience the same stroke of luck this time around after Laura Sheehan went on a dizzying run inside her own half and, stranded in front of the uprights, was penalised for holding on.
Having watched her side lead all game, Susie Appleby, the Exeter head coach, conceded the result felt more like a defeat. “I’ve just ripped their heads off because they deserved it,” she said bluntly. “Wasps were good today, they were much improved on last week – as we knew they’d be. Our discipline let us down, as did our accuracy around the breakdown. We made poor decisions when we came out after half-time, which made us absorb pressure.”
For long periods it looked like Chiefs were ready to grind out a resilient victory after two clinical first-half scores put Wasps on the back foot.
Mather’s side twice squandered key attacking opportunities at the line-out in the opening quarter and without a number of big names – with Meg Jones, Ellie Boatman and Abi Burton on England Sevens duty – they were occasionally guilty of losing their structure.
Yet there was one player, Maud Muir, who was the glue that held the hosts together. The dynamic young England prop thundered her way around the pitch and cancelled out Clara Nielson’s early try, and proved influential as Wasps eventually learnt how to blunt Exeter’s driving maul. “Maud is very unique in the sense that, how many props go for 80 minutes every week?” said Mather. “She can play loose, tight and she can hook too. She’s smart – and she’s only 20 years old.” It is a scary thought to entertain.
Exeter did well to neutralise Abby Dow, the Wasps full-back who had a quiet afternoon and was not given the freedom to showcase her usual firepower from deep. That honour belonged to Claire Molloy, the recently retired Ireland flanker who, in a testament to how stretched Wasps’ squad is at present, was shifted out to inside centre. She nevertheless looked like a natural in the position, hoovering up every 50-50 ball and standing tall in defence when Bryony Cleall was sent to the sin-bin late on.
Wasps looked more energetic towards the end as they trapped Chiefs in their own half to win the all-important penalty and stay in the hunt for a play-off spot.
Match details
Scores: 0-5 Nielson try, 5-5 Muir try, 7-5 Williams con, 5-10 Mpupha try, 7-15 Johnson try, 12-15 Cleall try, 15-15 Williams pen.
Wasps: A Dow; J Cooksey, C Molloy, G Rowland (S Touhey 53), R Wright; F WIlliams, Sammy Wong (L Nye 53); H Kerr (K Searcy 58), C Moloney, M Muir, C Cooney (M Combebias 49), S Monaghan, H Caux (B Cleall 40), C Balogun, R Burnfield.
Replacements: K Adefemiwa Afilaka, M Evans, E Stone.
Sin-bin: Cleall.
Exeter: M Doidge; G Mackinder, Z Mpupha, N McGillivray, L Sheehan; F Robinson, P Garcia; L Delgado (H Rogers, 40), C Nielson, D Menin (E Tuttosi 60, L Van der Velden (A Fleming 35), N Fryday, P Leitch, R Johnson, K Zachary (E Jefferies 54).
Sin-bin: Zackary.
Replacements: M Hunt, E Sinclair, M Davies, N Terry.
Referee: Peter Caunt.
