Wales lock Abbie Fleming says the hurt of last year’s Premier 15s final defeat will motivate Exeter Chiefs to “go one better” this year.

Exeter avenged their 2022 final loss to Saracens by beating them in the play-off, while Gloucester triumphed over Bristol Bears.

“We knew [playing Saracens] was going to be a big fight, but to score in the last minute and win, it was brilliant,” Fleming told BBC Sport Wales.

“We’re right back to where we were last year in terms of reaching the final. It’s now proving to ourselves that we can do it.

“I think we’ve got a really good attitude in and amongst the group.”

International graft

For Fleming, it has been a season to remember for club and country.

The 27-year-old was a powerhouse in the pack as Wales produced their best Six Nations performance since 2009 and their highest ever world ranking of sixth.

Fleming had been in and around the squad for a few years but it was not until this year’s Championship that she truly established herself, starting all five of Wales’ games.

“For some players it does take time,” she said. “I first came into the squad in 2018-19, so actually it’s taken a few years.

“You need to change parts of your game and your stature, but they are worth it because when you get them right you are able to perform on the field.

“You’re getting back exactly what you put in and you’ve worked hard for years for.”

Fleming says being given a captaincy role in the inaugural Celtic Challenge Cup in January, which featured development teams from Wales, Scotland and Ireland, helped her progress.

“I really felt like I developed a lot of skills,” she said. “I was then able to build on myself and get some good game-time under my belt which set me up well for the Six Nations.

“It’s been a really good year and hopefully we can finish the year off with a win in the final and then we’ll set ourselves up for the WXV.”

Turning professional

Fleming balanced working as a physiotherapist with rugby before accepting one of the Welsh Rugby Union’s full-time contracts in January.

“I decided that now is the right time for me to solely focus on my rugby career,” she said. “I’m still relatively young and I’ve got loads more to give.

“But I know in the future when it’s time for me to hang up my boots, which hopefully won’t be for a very long time, I can get myself back into the healthcare system and do what I trained so hard for when I was at university.”

Fleming worked throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and helped prone patients in hospital.

“It was quite a full-on time, being honest, it was tough mentally and it was a ride you had to stay on in order to get to the end,” she said.

“But I’m glad it did because I’m where I want to be now.

“I would never have envisaged, even a year ago, that I’d be in this position, but it’s great to be here and I’m really grateful to my younger self for going through those hard times because now it’s made it all worth it.

“I feel very honoured to continue to be in the Welsh set-up and to continue to play for Exeter.”

A record 5,000 tickets have already been sold for the weekend, with both sets of players having their names on their shirts for the first time.

“When we were younger and playing rugby it just wasn’t like that, you would have a couple of hundred maybe in the crowd, mostly family and friends, whereas now it’s reaching to such a wider target audience,” said Fleming.

“We’re now able to inspire young children, boys and girls – it’s brilliant.”

Exeter can take confidence from their 50-point league demolition of their weekend opponents earlier this month – one of only two defeats for Gloucester all season.

Fleming is set to pack down against some of her international team-mates, with Bethan Lewis, Kelsey Jones and Six Nations star Sisilia Tuipulotu among the Gloucester forwards.

“Obviously the positive is that you know them quite well, you know their strengths, what they can bring and how we can counteract that,” she said.

“You play your 80 minutes, you battle it out on the field and then after the game you know you’re going to be there with your club team-mates and your Welsh team-mates as well.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”