Chiefs 59 Bath 14

Exeter Chiefs 59

Bath Rugby 14

Mark Stevens at Sandy Park

Pre-season or not, running up a half century of points against your nearest and dearest will always be something to savour.

Exeter Chiefs made it two wins from two in this season’s Westcountry Challenge Cup as they swept aside rivals Bath with an eight-try blast at Sandy Park.

The home pack did much of the damage for Rob Baxter’s side, producing seven of those scores – three of which came from penalty tries – as the visitors struggled to contain the energetic and forceful Exeter eight.

Then behind, young fly-half Joe Simmonds enjoyed a magical debut display, producing a flawless kicking display that yielded a points’ haul of 19 points.

In reply, Bath offered the occasional glimmer of hope for their travelling fans, claiming converted second half tries from Luke Arscott and Brett Herron, but they were rare highlights on a tough afternoon in Devon.

Keen to build on their opening victory over Gloucester a fortnight ago, Baxter again took the opportunity to give a number of his squad some much-needed game time.

As well as handing Simmonds a first-ever senior start, hooker Jack Yeandle was back to skipper the side following summer surgery and summer signings Ollie Atkins, Julian Salvi, Shaun Malton, James Short and Olly Woodburn were all given another chance to impress during the contest.

It was, however, the visitors who were afforded the first chance of the game on three minutes, but fly-half Adam Hastings was unable to land the long-range penalty, drifting his kick just wide of the right post.

The Chiefs duly made the most of the let-off and broke the deadlock minutes later when Simmonds slotted a straight-forward kick of his own after the visitors were pulled up for infringing at a ruck in front of their own posts.

Up and running at last, it took until the end of the first quarter for Baxter’s side to finally kick into gears. With the backline certainly looking sharp in attack, it was the leg work being done up front that was causing the real problems.

A succession of scrums in the right corner was causing issues – albeit without reward initially – but when referee Craig Maxwell-Keys finally had enough of Bath’s indiscretions, the young official had little option but to run under the posts for the first penalty try.

Bath’s cause was further hampered moments later when full-back Arscott marked his return to his old stomping ground by being dispatched to the sidelines for ten minutes following a crude body check on Max Bodilly as he looked to chase down a chip over the top.

With the man extra, the Chiefs again pressed hard in attack and were rewarded when the Bath pack again collapsed under mounting pressure for a second penalty try.
Simmonds converted both scores before then adding the extras to Exeter’s third try on 36 minutes, Irishman Ian Whitten powering his way over from close range after the impressive Don Armand had picked up from the base of a five-metre scrum.

As half time approached, Hastings had a second chance at the target with a penalty wide on the left, but again the Bath No.10 could not make it count, firing his kick short and wide of the far post.

HALF TIME EXETER CHIEFS 24 BATH 0

Unlike against Gloucester, Baxter resisted making wholesale changes at the break, instead allowing the majority of his first half troops to continue their battle.

Flanker Ben White offered the first scoring chance of the second half for the Chiefs, but he was denied as Bath scrambled sufficiently to thwart him just inches from the line.

It was a momentary respite for Bath, though, as from the resulting scrum, Exeter’s pack again combined as one to deliver a formidable thrust that saw their rivals crumple in a heap. Again Maxwell-Keys had little option but to award the penalty try.

Seemingly in cruise control, a rare blip in the home defences allowed Arscott to sneak over for Bath’s opening try, converted by Herron, but it wasn’t long before the hosts were back on the offensive.

Replacement prop Moray Low was the latest addition to the scoresheet as he powered over from close range – and the Scottish international got in on the act again, rounding off a great kick chase from Stu Townsend and Damian Welch to make it 52-7.

A flurry of replacements were introduced by both sides as the game headed into the final quarter, but it was the vibrant Chiefs – sporting their new orange and black cup kit – who were still very much in the ascendancy.

With the newcomers seamlessly picking up from where those had previously trod, it was England Under-20s international Sam Skinner, who added to Exeter’s advantage, running in an eighth converted try with just over ten minutes remaining.

To their credit, Bath continued to offer some resistance and they were rewarded late on when Herron picked a lovely line in midfield to claim a try, which he also converted, but by then the game was already over as a contest.

For the Chiefs, a week’s break is now on the agenda before they must gear themselves up for back-to-back away days against Gloucester and Bath in the final rounds of the newly-created, three-team tournament.

After which, it will all getting exciting as first on the schedule for Baxter’s men in the Aviva Premiership is a testing trip to the Rec to face, you guessed it, Bath Rugby.

Chiefs: B McGuigan (A Hughes 51); O Woodburn (J Short h/t), M Bodilly, I Whitten (P Laverick 51), M Jess (B McGuigan 70); J Simmonds, H Thomas (S Townsend h/t, J Maunder 74); C Rimmer (A Hepburn 51, B Sturgess 74), J Yeandle (capt, S Malton 54), A Brown (M Low 51, H Williams 74); O Atkins (J Hill 56), D Welch; T Johnson, B White (J Salvi 56), D Armand (S Skinner 63). Replacement (not used): P Dollman

Tries - Penalty Try (3), Whitten, Atkins, Low (2), Skinner; Conversions - J Simmonds (8); Penalty - J Simmonds

Bath: L Arscott; D Atkins (M Banahan 51), M Clark, R Jennings (O Devoto 51, R Jennings 63), J Williams; A Hastings (B Herron h/t), J Evans (W Homer 69); B Obano (M Lahiff 46), T Dunn (T Wolstencroft 46), K Palma-Newport; C Ewels (capt), T Ellis; S Blackmore (M Lahiff 34-40, M Garvey 48, M Bolwell 75), M Northcote-Green (G Mercer 69), Z Mercer (L Houston 51). Replacements (not used): S Jack, A O'Meara.

Tries - Arscott, Herron; Conversions - Herron (2)

Yellow Cards: Arscott, Obano

Referee: C Maxwell-Keys

Attendance: 8,490