Match Reaction - Ali Hepher

By Mark Stevens
15/1/23

Ali Hepher praised his side’s fighting spirit as they struck late to secure a losing bonus point in their 39-28 Heineken Champions Cup defeat away to the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria.

Josh Hodge and Solomone Kata both crossed the whitewash in a tight first half, but the Chiefs were made to pay after the break as their South African hosts capitalised on a red card for Exeter skipper Henry Slade to seal the victory at Loftus Versfeld.

Slade as shown red by stand-in French referee Thomas Charabas after original official Mathieu Raynal was forced off with a hamstring injury. Not long after taking charge, Charabas dismissed the England international for a perceived high tackle on home full-back Kurt-Lee Arendse.

It meant an uphill task became even harder for the Chiefs, but they rallied well and were able to bang in second half scores from Jannes Kirsten and Jack Innard to ensure their long trek to there Southern Hemisphere was rewarded with at least something.

Post-game, head coach Hepher gave his assessment of the contest, saying: “The bonus point is very important because any points in this competition are huge, particularly when there are only 20 up for grabs. Look, we’re pleased with the fightback and we showed good energy and spirit, particularly in that last part of the game.

“What we need to address are the mistakes we are making. Again, we gave away too many penalties because we were that little bit slow on the inside clear and that allowed them to get over the ball too many times. Also, our energy and enthusiasm to get there was lacking at times. At the moment we’re giving teams an extra five or six penalties that we shouldn’t be doing, so there are lessons to learn around that area.”

Scores either side of half time for the Bulls proved pivotal in the overall structure of the game, but Hepher certainly saw glimpses of encouragement from his players, including the tries and the fight they showed.

“We scored two very good tries in the first half, but those scores either side of half time were huge,” added Hepher. “They were big moments in the grand scheme of things, but we fought our way back and we were rightly rewarded at the end. That said, there are still things we need to tidy up on.”

In what was a double-whammy for the Chiefs in the second period, the dismissal of Slade, coupled with the loss of club captain Jack Yeandle to a head knock just five minutes after coming on, did little to help their cause in the Highveld.

“Sladey’s card was a little bit tough,” added Hepher. “I’m not sure what the processes were, but to me it looked like a collision on his arm first and then bounced up onto his head. We’ll have a look at in the week and see what we do from there.

“The card probably galvanised us a bit and the spirit we showed after was very good. Also, the impact the guys had off the bench was very pleasing, so to get that bonus point at the end was crucial.”

Despite the defeat, there were some positives Exeter could take out of the game.

“There are lots. A bonus point [for scoring for tries] in Europe is probably a par score, so that is obviously pleasing and how we came back for that,” said Hepher. “The guys will be able to take confidence from the adjustment to altitude. We were our own downfall at times, so we can go toe-to-toe with these quality sides, especially in South Africa. We can go toe-to-toe with all teams in Europe. We got to make sure we don’t contribute to our downfall with the penalties and the errors that probably cost us in this game.”