Second half show delights Hepher

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By Mark Stevens
20/3/2016

Backs coach Ali Hepher says Exeter Chiefs will continue to tick the boxes off as they look to secure a place in the Aviva Premiership play-offs for the first time in the club’s history.

The Devon club moved to the summit of English rugby’s top tier thanks to a 20-12 victory over Northampton Saints at Sandy Park.

Fly-half Gareth Steenson led the way with a 15-point haul, while winger Olly Woodburn (pictured) added a second half try for the Chiefs, who had trailed 12-3 at the break.

Earlier, the Saints had claimed first half tries through skipper Lee Dickson and winger Ken Pisi, the second converted by JJ Hanrahan.

However, poor discipline after the break ultimately cost the Midlanders, who were duly put to the sword by the deadly boot of Steenson.

Hepher, himself a former Saints player, praised his side’s second half showing, insisting the half-time talk had allowed the coaches to address one or two issues that were frustrating the hosts in the opening 40 minutes.

“Obviously there were two sides to our performance today,” said Hepher. “First half we were disappointed in the sense that we didn’t look as though we weren't enjoying our rugby. We are a good side who always play with that positive mindset, but we didn’t do that in the first half

“We just freed the guys up at half time, they were worried about making mistakes and that in turn can sometimes lead to making more mistakes. Like I said, it was great to free them up and for them to take that message we gave them out onto the pitch.

“We started to carry big and started to get on front foot early in the second half. Up front we started to turn the screw a little bit and as the half continued we just started to get stronger and stronger.”

With unforced errors hampering the home side’s charge in the first half, Hepher said the message to the team at the interval was to relax and attack the game more positively.

“It was important we came out in the second half positive in our heads and positive about our actions and not worry too much about our mistakes,” added Hepher.

“We told the guys the most disappointing thing would be if we didn’t pitch up and really go after the game. The guys took that on and it was great to see.

“You could tell there was a bit of edge in the air and they were a little bit worried, so we had to change that mindset and just go after them. We had to give them a belief, which we did. We had a strong start to the half and we just fed off that and the lads went from strength to strength.”

With just four rounds of the scheduled season remaining, Hepher is aware the Chiefs could not be better placed. However, defending champions Saracens, plus fellow high flyers Wasps, lie in wait over the coming weeks and the Exeter coach knows there is still plenty for his side to carry out.

“Next week is another big game for us up at Saracens, so we must be right up for it,” continued Hepher. “We can’t afford to have a poor half like we did today or we will get done. It’s vital now we regroup, we recover well and hit the pitch hard next week. We went up there last year and won, so we’re capable of doing that, but we must make sure we are ready and get the game plan right to perform again next week.

“In terms of what we do, the first box to tick is top six, then we can move onto the top four. Yes, we’d like a home semi-final as it would be great to bring it home for the fans, but we’ve lots of important games coming up. Next week is the first and we’re looking no further ahead than that.

“We just need to keep focused one week to the next, but if we can keep digging in performance like the second half today, it will certainly put pressure on the other sides.”