Shock Exeter Chiefs result shows good things come to those that invest
In the biggest shock of Premier 15s history, newly-formed Exeter Chiefs beat title holders Saracens 22-14 on Saturday.
Saracens have long dominated the Premier 15s, winning the 2017-18 season and the 2018-19 season. The London team were on track to retain their title in the 2019-2020 season, before it was declared null and void due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Susie Appleby’s Exeter Chiefs side, on the other hand, played their first ever game of Premier 15s rugby against Gloucester-Hartpury on 10 October 2020, losing 34-14. Despite their newcomer status and underwhelming welcome, the team managed to secure a decisive win to end Saracens’ 33 match winning streak. This result hasn’t come from nowhere, it is the result of building an Exeter side with investment from the board into the women’s squad. Above all, yesterday’s game between two semi-professional women’s rugby sides highlighted exactly what happens when you invest in women’s rugby, and why it absolutely deserves to be broadcast on television. It was a thrilling, skilful, and exciting 70 minutes of rugby.
NO ENTRY ?@ExeterChiefs #Premier15s pic.twitter.com/V9tupqkQHV
— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) January 30, 2021
In September 2019, Exeter Chiefs revealed their bid to join the Premier 15s, the highest level of elite women’s rugby in England. Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks were two new sides to join the league, and the Devon team’s chief executive, Tony Rowe, pledged to invest £500,000 in setting up the women’s side, with a further expected £1m to £1.5m over the first three seasons.
Red Roses fans will remember that in Autumn 2019, England played at Exeter Chiefs home ground Sandy Park against France, which at the time was a record-breaking audience for a Women’s Six Nations game in England, with an audience of 10,545 rugby fans. It was part of an England Rugby initiative to take women’s rugby to areas with high numbers of rugby fans, who might not travel to Twickenham to watch the Red Roses play. Months before, in February 2019, the Red Roses had their record attendance for a home Women’s Six Nations game with a crowd of 4,674 in Doncaster. It’s an idea the RFU borrowed from France, who had a world-record crowd of over 17,000 when France beat England in Grenoble. Moving the games around made women’s rugby more accessible for rugby fans in France, and England were smart to make a similar move in Doncaster and Exeter.
Last year, Rowe told The Telegraph: “When we looked at the demographics of the people who were buying those tickets, they were mostly, 95 per cent, sold in Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset, so we know there’s a big appetite down here for women’s rugby.”
Rowe continued: “Exeter Chiefs Women will play their games at Sandy Park and our intention is for them to be a main act. We will play the women on a different day to the men. We think there’s enough support for them down here to attract their own supporters and start their own fanbase.”
The potential of such a fanbase is yet to be seen, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Rowe confirmed that the investment into the women’s side would not be affected by coronavirus.
The new side will attract rugby fans, as some huge international stars having made the move to Devon to play for the new club. England forward Poppy Leitch is joined by stars including USA captain Jennine Duncan and her teammates Gabby Cantorna and Kate Zackary, Netherlands captain Linde Van Der Velden, Japan prop Sachiko Kato, and a number of Canadian players.
Big smiles on the faces of the @USARugby women who are across the pond playing for @ExeterChiefs after their big win against @SaracensWomen on the weekend. And shout-out to Eagle's captain @katezack28 for her player of the match nod pic.twitter.com/V456BqyXbC
— Women Eagles (@USAWomenEagles) January 31, 2021
These players have been enticed to Devon with the professional set-up and investment promised by the Exeter board. The women’s squad shares the same training facilities as the men, they play at Sandy Park, and can access some of the same equipment as the men, including GPS trackers to assist performance. According to The Telegraph, the team even has its own chef, an almost unheard of luxury in the women’s game.
The players will receive a £100 match fee per game, meaning the side is a semi-professional set-up. £100 per game seems like an insufficient amount, but it is a start for the professional women’s game in the UK. For the players, I think the appeal of Exeter will be the long-term investment evidenced from the club, and the ability to access world-class training facilities not always afforded to the women’s sides. It’s also worth noting that the overseas players are assisted with accommodation and often help with securing jobs. For example, the club helped Captain Linde Van Der Velden to get a part-time job as an architect, alongside her rugby commitments, according to The Telegraph.
The ringfencing – in promise – of Exeter Chief Women’s funds is paramount to ensure the success of the side. For all rugby teams, the last year has seen a drop in income, and it is feared this will have a drastic impact on the growth of the women’s game. In October, Rowe admitted that Exeter Chiefs has lost £1million a month without fans at Sandy Park, but has confirmed they will still fund the women’s side. In October, the RFU announced that they would cut women’s rugby funding by 25 per cent, which meant each team in the Premier 15s received £56,250 this season, a reduction from £75,000.
Forgive me for my excitement here, but Exeter’s triumph against Saracens is a welcome relief to women’s rugby fans who want a more exciting and competitive domestic competition. It’s a sign of what’s to come, as more teams in the Premier 15s are sufficiently funded. Despite the financial uncertainty of coronavirus for clubs, there is good news. The Premier 15s does have a new sponsor, Allianz, who I believe should significantly fund the women’s domestic game.
Investment in women’s rugby is no longer a profitless gesture, but is proving a smart move in rugby hotspot Devon. Exeter Chiefs Women will undoubtedly build on their success and will welcome their fans into Sandy Park in large numbers as soon as possible. Exeter Chiefs Women will also grow their academy to allow local players to climb through the ranks, but Appleby has made it clear that first Exeter needs to be a truly competitive side.
Phenomenal defence from @ExeterChiefs ? #Premier15s pic.twitter.com/CAyvkUbuEz
— Premiership Women's Rugby (@ThePWR) January 30, 2021
This weekend’s clash was only available to stream online, via the Premier 15s website or on social media. It’s such a shame, as I would have loved to watch it on television. There were also issues for those who tuned in, as the commentary and sound was not working for the first part of the stream. Maybe there really isn’t the appetite for domestic women’s rugby on television yet, but with games as exciting as this, and rivalries as big as Saracens v Exeter now exclusively playing out in the women’s game, it’s genuinely riveting rugby.
Each week, Premier 15s shares the best tries of the week on social media, where fans can watch the likes of Bristol Bears’ Jaz Joyce score unbelievable tries. It’s worth watching, if you are still unsure of the quality of women’s rugby.
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments