Welsh 0 Chiefs 52

London Welsh 0

Exeter Chiefs 52

Mark Stevens at the Kassam Stadium

If this is the sign of things to come, then Exeter Chiefs supporters can expect a pretty exciting season ahead in the Aviva Premiership.

Rob Baxter’s side produced a stellar, record-breaking performance to ruin London Welsh’s return to English rugby’s top tier.

Debutant Thomas Waldrom led the charge with two tries, but there were a further five touchdowns for the Devonians who amassed over 50 points in the Premiership for the first time.

Dave Ewers, Sam Hill, Ian Whitten, Jack Arnott and Chrysander Botha also got in on the scoring act, while fly-half Gareth Steenson converted the first six tries before departing with a 100 per cent record.  Fellow playmaker Henry Slade weighed in with the remaining points courtesy of a penalty and conversion to put the seal on an emphatic opening-day display.

Welsh - even with their new, high-profile recruits such as Piri Weepu and Olly Barkley in tow - were simply not at the races as the Chiefs ran riot in Oxford.

Having gone through pre-season with an unblemished record thanks to wins at Cardiff Blues, Ulster and Worcester Warriors, Baxter knew the start of league battle would bring a step up in standard, intensity and physicality for his troops.

From the outset, though, the Chiefs - who paraded five of their eight summer signings from the outset - were quickly into their stride as they formulated a game plan that was full of power and pace.

Welsh, who were back in the top flight for the first time in two years, did well to soak up the early pressure as England international Waldrom led the charge with Exeter’s first meaningful attack on five minutes.

At the other end, Welsh threatened as Weepu and Barkley combined nicely for the latter to nestle a neat grubber kick in behind the Chiefs defensive line that Scott did well to collect before he was swamped by the scramble Exeter defence.

With the threat repelled without too much fuss, the Chiefs opened their seasonal account on 11 minutes through Waldrom. Using the forwards to do the donkey work, the ball was shipped through at least ten different pairs of hands before Steenson was able to feed ‘The Tank’ who did the rest with aplomb.

Minutes later and the Chiefs came again, this time winger Whitten creating the opening with a stunning break-out that had the industrious Waldrom powering towards the whitewash once more only for Haydn Thomas to knock-on deep inside the home 22.

Scrum-half Thomas then saw a potential second score chalked off by referee Dean Richards, who had adjudged his race to the sticks had been created by some obstruction earlier in the move.

Exeter, though, continued to keep piling forward and just before the half-hour mark they claimed a deserved second try when another powerful raid, this time down the right flank allowed Waldrom to somehow sneak over from close range.

Referee Richards momentarily went to the TMO for clarification on the grounding, but that was soon determined in the favour of the visitors, who added the additional two points through the right boot of Steenson.

Welsh needed to find a way back into the contest and they were afforded an opening when a hanging kick from Barkley was fielded by summer signing Botha, but in the ensuing play the Chiefs were deemed to have driven over the top and it gifted fly-half Barkley a chance to strike

Sadly, the former England international could not capitalise as he shanked his long-range effort wide of the left post. Then, straight from the restart, he had the chance to atone for his miss when he was granted another shot at the target. Again it resulted in a similar outcome as he shanked his second effort even further left.

Slade showed how it should be done for the Chiefs when he thundered over a penalty from halfway just before the break after the Chiefs pack had combined as one to destroy the Welsh pack.

It was impressive stuff from Baxter’s side who headed into the half-time break with a real swagger in their step.

HALF TIME LONDON WELSH 0 EXETER CHIEFS 17

However, if the first half gave Baxter and the Exeter coaches plenty to smile about, the second half was simply the stuff of dreams as the Devonians upped the ante to a level which the Exiles simply could not handle.

Slade and prop Carl Rimmer sounded an early warning with an attacking raid just four minutes after the restart, before Mitch Lees - himself a former Welsh player last term - bulldozed past his old team-mates to create the opening for Exeter’s third try which arrived from all-action flanker Ewers.

Steenson slotted the testing conversion attempt from wide on the right before repeating the dose two minutes later as a huge hit from Hill in midfield on Tim Molenaar saw him not only stop the Welsh centre at speed, but he was able to rip the ball from his grasp and run unopposed to the line to make it 31-0.

It was relentless stuff from the Chiefs who, even when they had to defend, were able to put in an equally impressive set of drills to deny their rivals.  Right winger Seb Stegmann threatened with one chance down the right following a clever pass from Weepu, but that came and went and it was not long before the visitors were back on the attack.

Indeed, try number five arrived on the hour mark when Irishman Whitten cut a lovely line in from the centre to finish off a well-drilled line-out move to extend Exeter’s grip on proceedings.

Welsh’s misery, though, continued unabated as Arnott - grabbing his first-ever taste of Premiership action - picked off a hanging box kick from Will Chudley, before turning on the after burners and scorching over to make it 45-0.

With Welsh wilting by the minute in the Oxfordshire sunshine, Matt Jess saw a try chalked off by the TMO for being apparently short of the line, before Namibian flyer Botha showed some dazzling footwork on halfway before coasting in under the posts for Slade to convert

Even though both sides were reduced to 14 men thanks to two yellow cards, the steely determination of the Chiefs to keep their line intact was underlined in a courageous final few moments where bodies were put on the line to thwart the Exiles.

In the end, Exeter’s pressure was simply too much and as Welsh coughed up the ball to Arnott, the young Plymothian happily booted the ball into touch to seal a record-breaking win.

Welsh: S Jewell (R Crane 60); S Stegmann, T May (capt), T Molenaar, N Scott; O Barkley (T Roberts 63), P Weepu (R Lewis 63); R Reeves (P Henn 53), K Britton (N Vella h/t), T Vea (J Gilding 59); D Schofield (M Corker 47), J Down; P Browne, R Thorpe, L McCaffrey (O Stedman 60).

Yellow Card: Henn

Chiefs: C Botha; I Whitten, H Slade, S Hill (J Arnott 59), M Jess; G Steenson (C Sweeney 63), H Thomas (W Chudley 34-40, 47); C Rimmer (B Moon 52), J Yeandle (capt, E Taione 62), T Francis (M Low 52); M Lees (D Armand 61), R Caldwell; D Ewers, B White (K Horstmann 60), T Waldrom (B White 70).

Tries - Waldrom (2), Ewers, Hill, Whitten, Arnott, Botha; Conversions - Steenson (6), Slade; Penalty - Slade

Yellow Card: White

Referee: D Richards

Attendance: 2,776

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v Leicester Tigers (H), Aviva Premiership, Saturday, September 13 (3.15pm)