Chiefs 36 Harlequins 13

Exeter Chiefs 36

Harlequins 13

Mark Stevens at Sandy Park

Rob Baxter's calls for Exeter Chiefs to re-establish their Sandy Park fortress were well and truly answered as his side swot aside the attentions of visiting Harlequins.

Having only won two of their last nine league games on their own turf and just seven out of 17 matches in all competitions in the last 12 months, the Chiefs could not have picked a better time to rediscover the winning formula.

From start to finish, Baxter's braves had too much for their rivals. Thomas Waldrom, Jack Yeandle and Henry Slade all crossed for tries, whilst the boots of Slade and Gareth Steenson did the rest of the damage.

Harlequins played their part in an entertaining contest, claiming a converted try through Asaeli Tikoirotuma and two penalties from Ben Botica. However, it was never enough to dampen the impressive Devonians.

Fresh from victory on the road at Gloucester last time out, Baxter resisted making changes to his pack for the visit of the Londoners. However, he altered his back division with Phil Dollman and Jack Nowell included for their first starts of the season in place of Chrysander Botha and Ian Whitten. On the bench, Don Armand and Tom James also returned to the fray to add some sizeable bulk in reserve.

Harlequins - who last season completed the double over their Devon hosts - were virtually at full-strength and came armed with all of their England big guns, including skipper Joe Marler, Chris Robshaw, Danny Care and Mike Brown.

A notable absentee for Quins’, though, was prolific goal kicker Nick Evans, who is still sidelined through injury. With the Kiwi missing, it was left to compatriot Botica to pull the attacking strings from the role of No.10.

And it didn’t take Botica long to announce his arrival on the scene, firing Conor O’Shea’s side in front on two minutes with a penalty after Exeter No.8 Waldrom had strayed offside in midfield.

The lead proved short-lived as the Chiefs, spurred on by another vociferous crowd, responded with a penalty of their own as Slade thundered over a sublime penalty following a huge shove from the Exeter eight at scrum-time.

The equally deadly Steenson then got in on the act as he added a second penalty, given after Harlequins had strayed offside following a quality counter-attack led by Messrs Hill and Jess.

Exeter were dominating proceedings across the board, so it came as no surprise when they claimed the game’s opening two on 23 minutes.

Having lost their own line-out just on the Quins’ 22, Botica’s attempted clearance out of defence was charged down by Mitch Lees and it was England international Waldrom who was on hand to pounce. Still with work to do, the former Leicester Tiger hacked forward before swallowing up the ball and dotting down in the corner.

He celebrated with his trademark ‘Toot Toot’ to the sky, whilst the Sandy Park tribe erupted yet further as Steenson obliged with the additional extras to give his side a 10-point cushion.

Harlequins needed a response of sorts and although Botica saw a second penalty chance cannon back off the post, he made no mistake minutes later when he drilled an effort from wide on the left flank through the sticks after Ben Moon had been adjudged to have dropped a scrum.

The remainder of the first period, however, belonged to the Chiefs as they extended their lead yet further as Slade added another booming penalty on 37 minutes, before Steenson did likewise with the final kick of the half after some determined defence from the home side.

HALF TIME EXETER CHIEFS 19 HARLEQUINS 6

On the resumption, the free-flowing action of the first period continued aplenty as first the Chiefs threatened with a counter raid led by scrum-half Will Chudley, whilst at the other end clever footwork from Botica and Ollie Lindsay-Hague fashioned space for the speedy Marland Yarde to expose the home rearguard. Although the England speedster was thwarted, his pass to the onrushing Jordan Turner-Hall saw the centre come within a whisker of squeezing over in the right-hand corner.

A closer inspection - via the TMO - ruled Turner-Hall’s intended pass back inside to Brown had gone forward and the Chiefs were momentarily spared.

There was no doubt, though, moments later when a sustained spell of pressure from the visitors created the opening for Fijian international Tikoirotuma to coast in under the sticks for the try, which Botica duly converted.

But no sooner had Harlequins given themselves a lifeline back into the game, they then preceded to gift their rivals another scoring opportunity. Having made a hash of the restart, knocking on without too much pressure being applied, the Chiefs pack again came as one to win yet another scrum penalty that the ever-reliable Steenson banged over without too much issue.

Slade could have followed suit when he was afforded another long-range chance on the hour mark, but this time his effort drifted wide of the mark and the scoreline remained untouched.

Minutes later and the Chiefs thought they had crossed the whitewash again, this time through Nowell. However, the young Cornishman was to be prevented through the intervention of the TMO once more.

The 21-year-old was not only denied the score, but his actions in jumping for the ball with England team-mate Brown were also adjudged illegal and he was sent to the sidelines for a ten-minute spell.

It was almost a mirror image of the challenge that saw Exeter’s Ian Whitten endure a similar fate against Gloucester’s Charlie Sharples seven days earlier. On that occasion, head coach Baxter questioned just where the rule makers were going with the game - and he will no doubt be feeling the same after this latest incident.

Even a man down, though, the Chiefs continued to look the stronger and with parity soon restored, they duly wrapped up victory as Slade finished off a crafted move to claim his first top flight try. Jess and replacement Tom James were the architects as the former provided an inch-perfect pass for the England starlet to coast over for the converted score.

Although there were just minutes remaining, Baxter's boys now had the bonus point within their sights. The hunger and determination was clearly evident as they hunted down possession in the dying embers. Dogged work saw them reclaim possession, before Jess set off at speed down the left flank in search of the fourth try.

The 'Heamoor Flyer' did his best to pin back his ears, but he was unable to gallop clear of Lindsay-Hague and although Nowell was in close attendance, the Chiefs were unable to deliver a final, telling blow.

In truth it didn't really matter, the Tribe were already on their feet and celebrating what was a notable scalp.

Chiefs: P Dollman (T James 74); J Nowell, H Slade, S Hill (I Whitten 59), M Jess; G Steenson, W Chudley; B Moon (C Rimmer 67), J Yeandle (capt, E Taione 77), T Francis (M Low 59); M Lees (D Armand 64), D Welch; D Ewers, B White (K Horstmann 59), T Waldrom. Replacement (not used): P Phibbs.

Tries - Waldrom, Yeandle, Slade; Conversions - Steenson (3); Penalties - Slade (2), Steenson (3)

Yellow Card: Nowell

Harlequins: M Brown (L Grimoldby 74); M Yarde, H Sloan (O Lindsay-Hague 16), J Turner-Hall (L Grimoldby 27-30), A Tikoirotuma; B Botica, D Care (K Dickson 68); J Marler (capt), D Ward, K Sinckler (W Collier 57); C Matthews, G Robson; L Wallace (J Trayfoot 69), C Robshaw, N Easter. Replacements (not used): J Gray, M Lambert, S Twomey.

Try - Tikoirotuma; Conversion - Botica; Penalties - Botica (2)

Referee: A Small

Attendance: 8,860

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v Newcastle Falcons (A), Aviva Premiership, Sunday, October 5 (3pm)