Chiefs side to face Montpellier
By Mark Stevens
20/10/17
Ali Hepher has called for ‘more of the same’ from his Exeter Chiefs side as they gear up for their second European Champions Cup clash of the season away to Montpellier on Sunday (2pm).
The Chiefs kicked off their Pool 3 qualification last Saturday with a notable 24-15 victory over in-form Glasgow Warriors - and it has given the reigning English champions the perfect fillip ahead of their latest trek across the English Channel.
Up against a star-studded Montpellier line-up, the Chiefs know they will need to replicate - if not better - their display of a week ago, if they are to emerge from the Altrad Stadium with any kind of reward.
The visitors, however, travel in buoyant mood and having pieced together a clever game plan to down the Warriors, who arrived in Devon unbeaten so far this season, Hepher says the tactics board has been utilised again this week in a bid to thwart their French hosts.
“It’s a tough place to go,” said Hepher. “Naturally, French teams tend to really target their home games, so that’s put a different emphasis on things this week for us. However, our away form has generally been pretty good, we’ve travelled well in the past, and we’re going there with a good game plan in place.
“At the same time, we know we have a good style in the way we play and, if we commit to it fully, then we know we will get a good performance. And like with any game, if you put in a good performance, you give yourselves a great chance of getting something out of the game.”
Unlike the Chiefs, Montpellier suffered a 24-17 defeat in their European opener away to Leinster. However, a brace of tries from former Exeter winger Nemani Nadolo did help the visitors to collect a crucial losing bonus point which, in this pool especially, could prove crucial in the final shake-up.
As always, the Chiefs coaching team have meticulously gone through the footage of that game - and others this season - piecing together a detailed dossier of where they can find a weakness in the French side’s game plan.
Although Hepher would not spell out in detail where any potential flaws were, he played down talk from the media looking too much in the glut of international stars available to the home side.
“We do our analysis on what is out there on the field and what they are doing at the time,” said Hepher. “There are a lot of sides in the Premiership what when you at them on a team-sheet, it looks like it could be a tough ask.
“That said, we have performed well against those sides in the past and we’ve won against those sides as well. We don’t tend to really look at names, more so what they can bring to the pitch at that time. The simple truth of it all is whoever performs best on Sunday will get the result and that’s the way it has to be.
“We know looking at them that they have got some big guys; they have a strong pick-and-go game; they have guys who can finish; and they have pace out in the backs.As I said, they are very physical, especially up front, but equally we know we can create our own opportunities if we get our game plan in place from the start.”
Certainly the Chiefs showed against Glasgow that they are more than willing to mix it up front, battering the Warriors for large parts of their contest, the fruits of which resulted in tries for pack members Harry Williams, Jonny Hill and Sam Simmonds.
Last weekend’s victory - only Exeter’s second-ever first round success in the competition - has given the Chiefs the perfect foundation from which to build - and Hepher insists a victory on the road this weekend would put his side in a great position heading into December’s double-header against rivals Leinster.
“If you pick up an away win, it does start to throw good opportunities your way,” added Hepher. “Last week was a good start for us, but the important things now is not to wait until round six to try and win the pool. Instead, let’s try and get a real foothold on things now.”
Team news for the Chiefs ahead of kick-off sees them make two changes in personnel, both of which come in the pack.Welsh international Tomas Francis gets the nod over Williams in the tight-head berth, while Thomas Waldrom - who made his first appearance of the season coming off the bench last weekend following a broken foot - starts at No.8 with Simmonds dropping to the bench.
The only other changes come on the bench where prop Alec Hepburn and scrum-half Will Chudley come in for Carl Rimmer and Stuart Townsend respectively.
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE MONTPELLIER
15 Phil Dollman
14 Lachie Turner
13 Henry Slade
12 Ian Whitten
11 Olly Woodburn
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Nic White
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Tomas Francis
4 Mitch Lees
5 Jonny Hill
6 Don Armand
7 Julian Salvi
8 Thomas Waldrom
16 Elvis Taione
17 Alec Hepburn
18 Harry Williams
19 Ollie Atkins
20 Sam Simmonds
21 Will Chudley
22 Tom Hendrickson
23 James Short