Chiefs U18s 40 Bath U18s 21
Exeter Chiefs U-18s 40
Bath U-18s 21
Mark Stevens
Exeter Chiefs Academy manager Rob Gibson was full of praise for the club’s Under-18s side, who maintained their winning start to the Premiership Rugby Under-18s league with a 40-21 victory at home to Bath.
Having defeated both Worcester Warriors and Bristol Bears in their opening two fixtures, the young Chiefs made the most of home comforts at Truro College to put in another impressive display.
In a dominant first half display from the Chiefs, it took just four minutes for them to break the game’s deadlock when prop Dylan Arthur crossed for their opening try, converted by full-back Ben Hammersley.
Five minutes later and they were adding to their tally, skipper Jack King making the most of some sustained home pressure to score their second try.
And there was to be no let-up from the Chiefs, who bagged a third score midway through the half when winger Frankie Nowell, who despite being stopped following a strong break down the right, managed to get his hands on the ball once again and power his way over for the score, which was again converted by Hammersley.
Already 19 points adrift, Bath needed to summon a response of sorts quickly – and this they did, just before the break, when right winger Ben Adams stole over for a try, converted by full-back Ciaran Donoghue.
However, the Chiefs were once again quickly into their stride on the resumption of the second half, hitting their rivals with three tries in the space of just seven minutes.
Winger Archie Fleming claimed the first with a superb, long-range effort – and he was followed over the whitewash by team-mates King and Ellis Baldry. Hammersley, who enjoyed a fine day from the kicking tee, added conversions to all three scores to put his side firmly in command at 40-7.
Bath, to their credit, refused to throw in the towel and in a spirited last quarter they gave the scoreline a more respectable look to it as they claimed converted tries from George Shaw and Byron Lloyd Gilmour.
Post-game, Gibson said: “It was another good win, especially considering we had made a number of changes to allow other players the opportunity to play.
“What has been evident this season is the enthusiasm and intensity that the group have shown together. The lads are clearly enjoying their return to playing after the long lay-off and, as a collective, they are performing very well.
“As a group, you can see they are playing with real pace and physicality and that in turn is reflected in the performances and the results we are achieving.”
Chiefs: B Hammersley; F Nowell, K Gentry, C McCaig, A Fleming; H Beckerleg, W Becconsall; D Arthur, D Shaw, F Keywood; A Sheridan, L Bayley; E Battle, M Mulcahy, J King (capt). Replacements: M Pritchard, L Newstead, T Gulley, M Hallam, E Baldry, J Hocking, F Musgrove, S Walker, B Parsons.