Exeter do the business vs young Saracens
Chiefs get their first bonus point win since May in improved second half display
Exeter Chiefs turned around a half-time deficit to beat an inexperienced Saracens side 31-22 at Sandy Park on Saturday night and claim consecutive home wins going into a SEVEN WEEK break for the Premiership over the Six Nations.
Exeter fielded pretty much their strongest team available, with wings Feyi-Waboso and Woodburn still long-term absentees and Henry Slade in Girona on England duty. Popular scrumhalf Stu Townsend celebrated his 100th cap, a great achievement, but perhaps an indictment on the Chiefs recruitment that he has got so many. We need more than vibes from a 9!
The pressure was on the Chiefs to win this one, especially being at home against a Saracens side with much of their spine either injured or on international duty. This internal pressure perhaps contributed to a scrappy first half performance, as they seemed to force things and lack the requisite patience. But all is well that ends well, the replacements doing what is expected by bringing superb energy and intensity to blow away Sarries in a brilliant spell in the final quarter.
Turgid first half with turnovers aplenty
From a needless Jack Innard offload in the first passage of play, putting the Chiefs under pressure, Sarries were awarded a penalty at the breakdown which Alex Lozowski slotted for an instant 3-0 lead.
Juan Martin Gonzalez, the excellent Saracens loose forward, had a moment to forget with a crazy brainfade that allowed the Chiefs to get a foothold in the game in the 7th minute. In a reckless clearout, the Argentine tipped Jacques Vermeulen onto his head in a nasty looking fall. Thankfully Vermeulen was able to continue and Gonzalez was shown a blatant yellow card.
Exeter didn’t waste much time in making the man advantage count as a well constructed maul close to the line paid dividends with Innard atoning for his earlier error to give Chiefs a 5-3 lead. This was just Exeter’s SECOND maul try of the season!
In the 26th minute Saracens restored their lead thanks to some weak Chiefs defence on Hugh Tizard, who strode through the midfield. Exeter blocked his offload but with our defensive line not set, the ball was spun wide for Tobias Elliott to score in the corner to make it 8-5 to Saracens. Shortly after this setback the Chiefs were rescued by the TMO spotting a Sarries knock in the build up to Gonzalez pouncing on a loose ball from one of their interminable box kicks.
The score remained unchanged going into the break, with the match being as messy as the Sandy Park pitch was boggy.
A try apiece in the third quarter
Dan Frost entered the fray in the 43rd minute, as did Franco Molina in the 50th, two massive boosts for any pack.
In between these two substitutions, Chiefs flyhalf Will Haydon-Wood’s blushes were spared when he failed to find touch after Townsend had won a crucial jackal penalty in our 22m, as Saracens gave away a penalty for a high shot just inside their half.
With Molina just arrived, a Chiefs lineout drive was repelled just metres from the line and despite nearly making a hash of it, the ball reached Will Rigg who backed himself and charged for the line, holding off the Sarries defence for a welcome score and 10-8 lead. Harvey Skinner, who had just arrived, missed the easy conversion but it wasn’t to prove costly.
In the 59th minute Ben Hammersley had a moment to forget that will be tough to watch in the review. From an innocuous box kick, and under no real pressure, he got himself into an awkward position to take the mark, with Elliott pouncing on the loose ball and finishing well. Lozowski nailed the conversion and in a see-saw game, Sarries had a 15-10 lead to manage in the final quarter.
Three tries in ten-minute blitz stuns Sarries
Paul Brown-Bampoe, one of the finds of the season, had a big hand in restoring the Chiefs lead. Not for the first time, PBB got up highest to retain a boxkick and then when the ball was recycled back to him on the right wing he showed great strength in getting rid of 2 defenders before offloading to Tommy Wyatt steaming on his inside to go over untouched. Skinner made no mistake with the conversion and the Chiefs were back in front 17-15.
Just as I was coming to terms with Kwenzo Blose being introduced, we scored again! Owen Farrell’s replacement Fergus Burke committed the cardinal sin of letting the ball bounce in his 22m and Molina was first to the loose ball, showing his incredible workrate, he offloaded to Frost running a great support line and despite being ankle tapped, he was able to pop off the floor for Ethan Roots to go over. Skinner added the extras for a crucial 24-15 lead, requiring Sarries to score twice to win it.
Things were made easier for the Chiefs in the 72nd minute when Sarries lock Harry Wilson was shown a red card for a high shot on Rusi Tuima, which the TMO picked up on. Wilson’s arm was tucked and he could have no complaints.
For the second time in the game Exeter showed ruthlessness in making Saracens pay for being a man down. In the next phase of play, Exeter scored their second maul try, with Frost being rewarded for a stellar second half contribution to make the game safe at 31-15.
Sarries enjoyed a concerted period of pressure in the dying minutes but it was too little, too late for the Salary Cap Cheats who left Devon sans points on a most enjoyable evening’s viewing.
Tommy Wyatt was excellent under the 4899867 box kicks Sarries deployed and made big metres carrying from the back. It is great to have him back, he is so much more dependable at the back than Josh Hodge. Brown-Bampoe was a thorn in the side of Saracens from our boxkicks and he was powerful with ball in hand too. Ethan Roots scored a try, but he made a few very dumb decisions at the breakdown to release pressure on Saracens and knocking one ball in contact. Frost, Tuima and Molina were all superb off the bench. Skinner even nailed a couple clutch conversions to make the last ten minutes less fraught than they might have been.
Hopefully Slade and Daf come through the Six Nations unscathed and we can get top seeding in the Prem Cup during the break from the Premiership.