Yahoo Finance 'In-form Exeter Chiefs still improving,' says head coach Appleby
Exeter Chiefs are the Allianz Premier 15s' in-form team and worryingly for this weekend's opponents Worcester Warriors, Chiefs head coach Susie Appleby insists her side are nowhere near the finished article.
Last weekend saw Exeter edge past Harlequins, ensuring victories in back-to-back weeks over the current top two - Saracens and Quins.
It wasn't necessarily pretty from Exeter, but they demonstrated their resilience as McKinley Hunt’s converted try gave them a slim 7-6 triumph over the high-flying Londoners.
Recent results have seen Chiefs surge up the table to fifth place, with six wins from their 11 fixtures, and Appleby is excited by the progress being made ahead of Saturday's contest with the eighth-placed Warriors.
“We are building, we’re on a journey,” Appleby said. “Every single game we’re learning a bit more about ourselves and a bit more about each other.
“That’s what happens when you’re growing up in the game, but we’ll take that and move forward.
“The girls are really prepared to fight for each other and that is what the badge is meaning to them. It speaks volumes in any performance.
“What we’ve got to do is get more accurate. When we’ve got hold of the ball, keep hold of it. Again, were we smart enough [against Harlequins]? We tried to be, but we weren’t as accurate as the previous week [against Saracens], so there’s some things to work on.
“That said, I am super, super happy for that squad to have come out with a win against two top sides.
“(We need to) sharpen up some stuff, rest up some bodies as we’re into the third game of a three-week cycle and make sure we get recovered properly. A bit of tweaking and improvements on what we did last time out.”
Your weekend line-up in the Allianz #Premier15s ⬇
We'll be streaming @HarlequinsWomen v @LightningRugby LIVE this Saturday, with coverage starting at 13:45 GMT. pic.twitter.com/u9DOjHAF24— Allianz Premier 15s (@Premier15s) February 11, 2021
Saracens bounced back from defeat to Chiefs to record a 73-3 thrashing of DMP Durham Sharks last weekend and sit top of the table on 45 points.
They will play sixth-placed Gloucester-Hartpury on Sunday, while second-placed Quins face a tough test against Loughborough Lightning - just two places and two points below them in the table.
Elsewhere, Wasps - off the back of a 40-3 victory over Worcester - head to Durham to face a Sharks side still looking for their first point of the season, while Bristol Bears and Sale Sharks will both be hoping for a bounce-back win when they meet on Saturday afternoon following losses last time out.
