Hepher's joy as Chiefs triumph

By Mark Stevens
02/4/2016

Exeter Chiefs returning to winning ways in the Aviva Premiership, much to the delight of assistant coach Ali Hepher who watched on with great pleasure as his side thumped visiting Worcester Warriors 50-12 at Sandy Park.

No.8 Thomas Waldrom and winger Olly Woodburn led the charge for the Chiefs, both scoring try hat-tricks, while James Short and Ollie Atkins also found their way over the whitewash for the Devon club.

Having come unstuck the week previous at league leaders Saracens, Hepher admitted this latest display offered the perfect response with just three rounds of the scheduled season remaining.

“Today was all about the Premiership for us and getting back on track,” said Hepher. “We were disappointed with last week, but it shows from last night how well Saracens are playing at the moment. When we reviewed the game from last week, we weren’t a million miles from it. However, we had to get back on track and get a bit of our attacking game back on the opposition and I thought we did that really well.”

Up against a strong first half wind, the Chiefs defied the conditions to lead 17-12. Waldrom (pictured), Short and Woodburn all claimed first half scores, but the Warriors kept themselves in contention, hitting their hosts with two quickfire tries just before the break from Cooper Vuna and Andy Symons, the latter of which was converted by Tom Heathcote.

The second half, though, belonged solely to the Chiefs as Atkins scored the bonus point score inside a minute of the restart, before Waldrom and Woodburn both went on to complete their trebles.

“There was a lot of wind out there and it was a key factor,” admitted Hepher. “We thought it might be a ten point wind, so to go in up at half time was pleasing. Yes, we were disappointed to leak a couple of soft tries and put ourselves under pressure a little bit, but the good thing is the guys took it in the right way and they came out firing straight away.

“I think we scored straight away - within a minute or something like that - and it was important to get that one in because a five point gap is not that big at this level. The way Worcester have been playing recently, they have been playing very well and they are dangerous with ball in hand, it was important we addressed things quickly and got back on top of our game.”

This the Chiefs did in impressive fashion and it was perfect fillip for them ahead of next Saturday’s European Champions Cup quarter-final away to Wasps.

“We’ve got a big week coming up,” continued Hepher. “It’s out first quarter-final in the top competition, which is great for us, but we’re not just turning up to have a laugh. It’s important we knuckle down because we are capable of winning up there. We know that from earlier in the season, so we’re excited about the opportunities. You only have to win three games and you win the lot, so we’re not too far away.”

And with the Exeter squad buoyed not only by the return of all of their Six Nations contingent, but also the likes of Damian Welch and Mitch Lees, the battle for a place in next week’s match-day squad is sure to be intense.

Hepher continued: “It’s nice to have everyone back again and playing so well. Yes, selection is going to be tough for next week, but that’s how you want it. We’ve got plenty who are more than capable of doing a job, so we’ll go through the tap and we will see who suits what role the best next week.”

One man hoping to play his part will be Lees, who made his first appearance since New Year’s Day having recovered from a long-standing bicep injury.

“It was important to get Mitch back out there again,” said Hepher. “He’s worked incredibly hard to get fit and he was an important part of our success earlier in the season. I think he gives us a real balance in the pack, which sometimes the other second rows don’t always give, but it’s good to have different options.”

Equally the sight of England star Jack Nowell (pictured) back in harness and carving up the Worcester rearguard was another huge positive for the Chiefs’ attack coach.

“The good thing with Jack is he can play in different position and we give him that licence to play. The only changes in moving him to full-back [when Phil Dollman went off] were around the set-piece, the rest of his game was as normal.

“I thought he looked really fresh coming out of the Six Nations block and he looked really strong. We have seen those England guys looking fresh coming out, but ironically they are the guys who have had the most rest weeks because they had a couple during the Six Nations, whereas the rest of the Premiership have been going hard at it right the way through. That’s probably one of the reasons, but they are also on a high following a successful campaign.”