Falcons 3 Chiefs 41

Newcastle Falcons 3

Exeter Chiefs 41

Mark Stevens at Kingston Park

On Halloween weekend, Exeter Chiefs ensured there was no repeat of last season’s Kingston Park ‘Horror Show’ as they powered to man emphatic victory in the Aviva Premiership.

Undone 29-24 at the North East venue last term, Rob Baxter’s side moved back amongst the division’s frontrunners with a frightening six-try display against winless Newcastle Falcons.

Five tries in the opening half from Will Chudley, Julian Salvi, Matt Jess and Don Armand (2) did much of the damage for the visitors, who added a further score after the break through replacement Moray Low.

Skipper Gareth Steenson weighed in with the remaining points, courtesy of four conversions and a penalty, whilst all the Falcons could muster in terms of a response was an early penalty from fly-half Mike Delany.

Having collected their first win of the season the week previous against London Irish, Baxter made three changes in personnel with summer signing Salvi handed his first start in the pack, while behind there were recalls for Sam Hill and Jess, the latter of whom was running out for his 100th Premiership appearance for the Chiefs.

The Falcons, meanwhile, also refreshed their starting XV with Alex Tait coming in for his first start of the season on the right wing; Tom Penny replaced the injured Chris Harris in the centre, Micky Young returned at scrum-half, while up front USA international Eric Fry was back at loosened having missed the defeats to Gloucester and Northampton Saints.

With personnel in place, the opening exchanges were somewhat frantic as the respective packs looked to slug it out in a succession of full-bore collisions in the centre of the field. The Falcons had the better of the possession, but they were finding it hard to find a way through the stubborn Exeter defence. That was until hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie failed to roll away from the tackle area, gifting Delany his opening shot that he landed with aplomb from 30 metres out.

But no sooner was Delany the hero, he went to zero within a minute as his intended clearance from deep inside his own 22 was charged down by former Falcon Chudley, who dotted down unopposed for the game’s opening try, which Steenson duly converted.

Minutes later and the Chiefs were doubling their tally, again the forwards did the initial donkey work, winning a penalty that they kicked to the corner. From the resultant line-out, Damian Welch soared highest before the visiting eight combined as one to send Salvi over for his maiden Exeter score, again converted by Steenson from wide on the left touchline.

Baxter’s side were certainly in the groove and having established a decent early buffer, they extended their advantage midway through the half. Again another penalty to the corner set the platform for the latest raid, which although repelled initially by the Falcons, soon brought reward when Chudley sniped down the blindside and there was Armand - following on behind - to pick up from close range and cross for the score.

Newcastle needed a way back into the contest and they almost found it when a sustained spell of pressure created an opportunity for Tait to cut in off the right wing, but as the home winger closed in on the try-line, he was met by a swarm of scrambling Exeter defenders who were hell-bent on defending the whitewash as though their very lives depended on it.

It was about the best the Falcons - who looked decidedly weaker in every department - could muster during the first 40 minutes.

Indeed, having soaked up the rare bit of home pressure, the Chiefs then hit their hosts with two more tries just before the break. The first, courtesy of Jess, saw the ‘Heamoor Flyer’ finish off in style after James Short and Phil Dollman had led a counter-raid from deep inside their own half.

And the second, virtually on the whistle, saw Steenson and Henry Slade provide the ammunition for Armand to gallop in unopposed from the home 22. Steenson again obliging with the extras with the last kick of a very one-sided first period.

HALF TIME NEWCASTLE FALCONS 3 EXETER CHIEFS 31

With the bonus point in the bag, five tries already accounted for, the initial stages of the second half proved somewhat pedestrian in comparison to what had already been served up from the Chiefs.

Early skirmishes failed to bring any reward for either side as a succession of set-pieces littered the opening ten minutes of the half, so Falcons coach Dean Richards decided to call for his bench in a bid to bring some fresh invention into his lifeless troops.

Initially the scoreboard remained untouched, but when the Falcons turned over ball on their own try-line, they expertly countered through Venditti and Tipuna to create the opening for their backline to work the ball wide to Agulla, who appeared to squirm over in the right-hand corner.

However, referee Ian Tempest was unsure of a possible knock-on in the build-up play and referred the matter to the TV match official who, following a handful of reviews, adjudged the ball had gone forward and the score was duly chalked off.

Whereas everything stuck for the Devonians during the opening 40 minutes, this half they struggled to find the same fluency as a succession of half chances came and went.

To be fair, the Falcons - no doubt reacting to a half-time ear bashing from Richards - were much improved, but their accuracy was well adrift as they too spurned two or three golden opportunities to claim a first try of the game.

The Chiefs duly showed them how it should be done as another Steenson penalty to the corner, created a catch-and-drive opening that was driven inside through a couple of phases and there was Scottish international Low to burrow over from five metres out to add a sixth try, converted by Steenson.

At the other end, Venditti thought he had finally broken the home side’s duck when he latched onto a pass from Tom Catterick, but again it was ruled out by the officials, this time for a forward pass, much to the misery of the home faithful.

The last word, though, belonged to the visitors who having pressed hard with a string of late scrums deep in Falcons territory, eventually opted to take the points with a last-minute penalty that Steenson dispatched with ease.

A happy Baxter rightly lauded his players post-match, but he knows a much stiffer test awaits his team this coming Saturday when Leicester Tigers are the visitors to Sandy Park.

Falcons: S Hammersley; A Tait, T Penny (B Agulla 48), A Powell (T Clever 69), G Venditti; M Delany (T Catterick 54), M Young (R Tipuna 50); E Fry (R Vickers 48), S Lawson (G McGuigan 48), J Welsh (T Vea 48); M Botha, C Green (J Furno 48); W Welch (capt), N Latu, A Hogg.

Penalty - Delany

Chiefs: P Dollman, M Jess, H Slade, S Hill, J Short (O Woodburn 58); G Steenson (capt), W Chudley (D Lewis 50); B Moon (A Hepburn 54), L Cowan-Dickie (J Yeandle 54), T Francis (M Low 54); M Lees (O Atkins 58), D Welch; D Ewers (T Waldrom 48), J Salvi, D Armand (I Whitten 75).

Tries - Chudley, Salvi, Jess, Armand (2), Low; Conversions - Steenson (4); Penalty - Steenson

Referee: I Tempest

Attendance: 5,160