Feaunati relishing bigger PWR crowds

Running out in front of big crowds is something Exeter Chiefs and England back rower Maddie Feaunati gets a real buzz out of, and it’s something she is growing more and more used to.

Feaunati, 23, could be playing in front of a record Women’s Six Nations attendance in a month’s time if she is selected by the Red Roses for their opening match against Ireland at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, as over 60,000 tickets have already been sold.

But it’s not just for international rugby that crowds have swollen rapidly, with England’s World Cup triumph last year having a knock-on effect in PWR this season.

Spectators are now heading to grounds to see internationals stars like Feaunati in far bigger numbers and she is relishing more eyeballs on the game.

Feaunati said: “It’s super exciting, you always want to play in front of big crowds and obviously in big games as well, so it brings me a lot of excitement when you’re warming up and there are people constantly walking in.

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“It just makes the atmosphere so much cooler.

“There are definitely a lot more people in the stands and more interest from fanbases, in terms of just being interested and wanting to get involved.

“There’s a lot we can do to keep getting more people in the stands and building fanbases around us.”

Exeter will hope to have plenty of backing for what is one of their biggest games of the season so far when they host fellow play-off contenders Trailfinders Women at Sandy Park at Saturday lunchtime.

The match represents an opportunity for the third -placed Chiefs to open a significant gap between them and the teams chasing the top four, with fifth-placed Trailfinders currently four points behind them with a game in hand.

Feaunati said: “It’s obviously a really important game in terms of where we both stand in the table, but it should be a good fight up front and the backs match each other in skills and pace, so I think it will be a great game.

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“There are a bunch of Kiwi girls in there I’m excited to play – I haven’t really played them before – and they have Meg Jones, so they have class all over the pitch.

“I’m obviously excited to play [England] team-mates that I know and a few girls that are from overseas.”

Exeter have three games left before the PWR season pauses for the Women’s Six Nations, with Leeds-born Feaunati hoping to add to the 23 caps she has earned with the Red Roses since moving back to the country from New Zealand just over two years ago.

While the Chiefs have had a positive campaign so far, a 19-point gap exists between them and the top two – Saracens and three-time defending champions, Gloucester-Hartpury – whose relentless displays have pulled them far clear of the rest.

On what her side needs to do to compete with them in the months ahead, Feaunati said: “We obviously need to find what’s missing in that gap and find what works for us and our identity, because it’s not a massive gap.

“There are just little things that have happened in the games that have got away from us that we can definitely close.

“Every game this season has been super tough – it’s just the nature of the PWR at the moment.

“It’s super competitive and you just need to take every game as it comes, so it’s super exciting and we’re looking to the next couple of weeks – before we go on the break – to finish on a high.”