Chiefs' hard work is rewarded

By Mark Stevens
27/11/16

Exeter Chiefs assistant coach Ali Hepher says his side are moving in the right direction after they made it back-to-back wins in the Aviva Premiership with an emphatic 57-22 win over Worcester Warriors.

Hepher watched on with glowing satisfaction as the Chiefs bagged eight tries in total against the Midlanders to keep themselves firmly in touch with the division’s leading frontrunners.

Club captain Jack Yeandle and Will Chudley set the ball rolling with the opening two scores, before referee Matt O’Grady penalised the Warriors with a penalty try just before the break.

In the second period the Chiefs continued to run riot as they added further scores through Olly Woodburn, Carl Rimmer, Thomas Waldrom, James Short (pictured) and Ian Whitten to complete the rout.

The victory followed hot on the heels of last weekend’s triumph over Newcastle Falcons and will have given the Devonians the perfect lift ahead of this Friday’s testing trip to Sale Sharks.

“We are pleased with the performance,” said Hepher afterwards. “We’ve challenged the guys and they have come through. We have put a lot of hard work into that, both players and coaches, over the last few weeks and we are reaping the rewards for it.

“It’s been coming in training and their confidence is returning. The guys are in a good positive mindset and they are zipping the ball around now, and carrying on the front foot in between bodies, which is making quick ball for the half-backs, and they in turn are putting us in the right areas.”

Exeter’s return to form is just the tonic the club needed after what was described as a sticky start to the campaign. However, this latest showing is sure to have made their rivals sit up and take note, particularly with the fact that they blasted the Warriors away with eight tries in total.

Hepher added: “Worcester are a good side and they are improving all the time, so we knew we would have to be on top of our game.

“It was an important match for us to push on with that confidence which we started to grow up at Newcastle, and it was pleasing to see.

“Some of our carrying in the wide, outside channels was dangerous because of the directness of the forwards and the work they had put in giving us that go-forward. Worcester are struggling with a few injuries and they will certainly cause other sides a lot of trouble over the course of the season.”

That said, the Chiefs were ruthless in a lot of what they did and showed no mercy against Carl Hogg’s side for the full 80 minutes.

“We are looking for excellence from the guys all the time,” continued Hepher. “That’s why they didn’t ease off in the second half, and to get to the bonus point was nice because it takes us only one point short of fourth place in the table.

“We are in a good place, but we haven’t produced our best yet, it still wasn’t a complete performance, but we are starting to go through the gears now, which is a good sign for the rest of the season.

“We have simplified our attack for the guys over the last few weeks, and they have actually relished it and have taken it on board, and their intent to go hard on the carries was key.”

Now the Chiefs will ready themselves for their upcoming trip to the Sharks this coming Friday where, as always, they will face a daunting challenge.

“It is a tough place to go and a lot of sides tend to struggle up there,” warned Hepher. “We haven’t been great the last couple of years we have been there, so we will put it down as a bit of a challenge to the players and see how they respond, and see whether we can put Sale under pressure and let’s grab that third win of this Premiership block of three.”