Match Reaction - Ricky Pellow
By Mark Stevens
4/12/22
Ricky Pellow believes ‘something special’ is building amongst the young players at the club after the Exeter Chiefs sealed their place in this season’s Premiership Rugby Cup semi-finals with a 50-33 victory over Gloucester.
Exeter’s victory at Sandy Park ensured they leapfrogged their opponents to take top spot in Pool One and set-up a last four showdown in the New Year.
As yet, who the Chiefs will face and where remains to be seen as there are still fixtures to complete, but Pellow was quick to praise the efforts of his side.
“We talked in the week about taking small steps and building something special as a group,” he said. “For us to get that semi-final spot in the bag, it’s fantastic, and I am super proud of the group for the way they played, not just today, but last week and in the earlier games.
“You can see that are growing every week and for a lot of those young guys, it’s a massive step forward in terms of their overall development. They are reaping the rewards for their hard work and it’s great to see.”
Facundo Cordero, Rus Tuima and Dan Frost all helped themselves to a brace of tries, whilst there was a further touchdown for Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as the Devonians secured maximum reward against their Westcountry rivals.
A powerful first half display certainly set the tone for the Chiefs win, but it was their effort after the break that was equally impressive, especially as Gloucester looked to hit back themselves.
“At half time we talked about the positives of our performance, but we also told the guys to go out and back it up in the second half,” added Pellow. “We knew Gloucester would come back at us, which they did, and they put us under pressure.
“That said, I thought some of the performances out there were first class. Greg Fisilau was exceptional again and back up what he did last week against Bath. He’s only been here a month or so, but he’s learning fast and showing real promise like a lot of the young players.
“Also, I thought Sol [Kata] in the centre was very strong and seeing Tom Hendrickson back after a long spell on the sidelines was great to see, the same as Aidan Davis last week. Overall, though, I couldn’t fault any of the lads, it was a brilliant performance in front of another exceptional crowd.”
Pellow hopes the feel-good factor of the past fortnight will continue this week as the Chiefs prepare to kick-off their Heineken Champions Cup campaign away to Castres on Saturday night.
“We’ll enjoy today, as we should, but then we’ll be back in and use these results to really build into that Castres game,” added the Cornishman. “It’s another big week for the club, but equally for these guys it’s great that they’ve been able to put their stamp on things, including selection moving forward.
“As I said, we don’t know who we will have in the semi-finals, but whoever it is and whoever plays in that game, I know we’ll look to attack the game and go after things using the same principles and ethos as we have in these opening rounds.”