Exeter Chiefs: US star Gabby Cantorna reveals how COVID-19 led her to England

Stood over a crucial conversion in the 78th minute of the Premier 15s semi-final, Exeter’s Gabby Cantorna didn’t feel the pressure. 

Instead, she stuck to her usual routine, took her time and nonchalantly slotted home the two extra points, which put the Chiefs more than a penalty ahead of the Bristol Bears. 

“Maybe I should have thought about it more,” the centre admitted to GiveMeSport Women. “But I would say I’m less when I’m under pressure. I think it’s one of those things that’s come with practice over the years.” 

Moments after nailing the conversion, the final whistle sounded and Exeter sealed their spot in the final at Sixways on June, 3rd. It’s a remarkable achievement for a side that was only formed in 2019, though they made hard work of it. 

At one stage of the match, Exeter were 21 points to the good, only to fall 24-21 behind with just seven minutes to play. Yet, the Chiefs found a way to rally themselves and scored a last gasp try thanks to winger Jennine Detiveaux. 

“There wasn’t really a sense of panic in the group,” Cantorna stressed. “It was more just that we knew what we needed to do. We needed to get ourselves up the field. We needed to stay out of the breakdown, stick to what we know and eventually, we just kind of thought we’d get where we needed to go. So I have to say it was really well done by our leadership group.”

In truth, this success is something few anticipated coming so quickly. Yet, Cantorna emphasised that everyone has “pushed” themselves to the limit, which has ultimately paid dividends. 

I think for a lot of us, we were really happy to be in the league, happy to be here as a whole and just competing and trying to pay respect to the Exeter brand of rugby that has come to be known to this