Season Review - November
By Mark Stevens
21/4/20
Having advanced past the much-fancied New Zealand in the last four of the Rugby World Cup in Japan, England had high hopes of securing their second World Cup crown when they kicked off the month of November against South Africa.
Years of detailed planning and execution had come down to one match for Eddie Jones’ squad, which included Exeter Chiefs trio Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell and Henry Slade for the showpiece event in Yokohama.
Both Cowan-Dickie and Slade were included on the bench for England against the Springboks, but there was to be no fairy tale ending for the Red Rose country, who were simply outgunned by Siya Kolisi and his team-mates.
Undone 32-12 in the end, it was a dominant display from South Africa, who sealed their success thanks to tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe, as well as 22 points from the boot of fly-half Hendre Pollard.
Owen Farrell slotted four penalties for England in reply, but it was never enough for Jones’ side, who returned home proud of their achievements, but sadly without the prized William Webb Ellis Trophy.
Back home, the Chiefs were themselves looking to get back to winning ways having been undone 13-10 at Westcountry rivals Bath in their last out Gallagher Premiership encounter.
Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, paraded a powerful looking line-up for his side’s second trip of the season to Worcester’s Sixways Stadium.
Notoriously a tough venue to go for visiting sides, this latest away-day in the Midlands would prove just that for the Devonians, who were able to welcome back Aussie scrum-half Nic White into their travelling party following his exertions at the World Cup.
White started on the bench for this encounter, but was introduced on the hour mark as the Chiefs looked to turn round a 17-10 deficit at the break. Together with his fellow Chiefs, they were able to dig deep enough in the second period to record a 24-20 victory.
Harry Williams’ try, five minutes from time, proved the key difference after Jack Maunder and former Warriors favourite Matt Kvesic had got over for earlier scores for the visitors.
Post-game, Baxter was quick to praise his side’s efforts, saying: ““That was a good battle. I thought Worcester were very physical and really challenged us, but I’m also delighted for the lads because they worked hard and we’ve come through really well in the end. I thought our courage to keep going and fighting to the end was fantastic and I’ve got to give the players great credit for that, because some of our ball carrying stats today will be through the roof.”
Exeter’s win was just what was needed ahead of their latest derby tussle, this time against Bristol Bears. Ahead of kick-off, the Chiefs held their annual, on-field Remembrance Service for all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice over the years in battle.
When the action did get underway, it was the home side who produced a storming first half showing, building a 17-0 lead at the break thanks to converted scores for Sam Simmonds and White with Joe Simmonds also slotting a penalty.
The break brought a much-needed chance for the Bears to regroup – and on the resumption they were quickly into the stride, reducing the deficit with two successful penalties from fly-half Callum Sheedy.
All of a sudden the ascendancy was now with the Bears, who were given extra impetus when White was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on. Bristol duly made the most of the chaos White's exit caused, using the numbers game to work an opening for Piers O'Conor to score.
Even then, the Chiefs were still in front - albeit their lead had been slashed to just four points - but they held the edge as the game entered into its dying embers.
However, instead of closing out the contest - like they have done so often in the past - Baxter's side were guilty of committing on-field hari-kari, the fruits of which resulted in a daft penalty that allowed the Bears to get themselves back down field.
Using the kick - and the resultant set-piece - Lam's side could not have delivered a better move, throwing all eight forwards - and a handful of backs - into a drive that the Chiefs sadly could not halt.
It was a rare home defeat for Baxter’s side, who would have to regroup quickly ahead of their Champions Cup opener away to La Rochelle, who had yet to taste defeat on their own patch.
The Chiefs used the week’s build-up to prepare accordingly and when they arrived at the Stade Marcel Deflandre, they had no reason to worry too much as they produced their best display of the season to date.
Converted first half tries from Dave Dennis and Tom O’Flaherty gave the Chiefs a 14-0 lead at the break and they were equally impressive in the second period, claiming all five points thanks to further touchdowns from Slade and Sam Simmonds to seal a 31-12 success.
It was little wonder that Baxter was quick to sing the praises of his team following the final whistle in France. He said: “For me, it’s massively satisfying when you see the results of the hard work that the players are putting in.
“I think that’s the first time we’ve really seen it this season. The guys have worked exceptionally hard in pre-season, but we really haven’t come together in a jointed fashion yet this season. Today, I thought you saw that. We looked like a good side, a strong side, who were well worth the win.
“It was more clinical from us and it looked like the machine is back and purring again. We have talked a lot in the last three or four weeks about how we get the machine back online and how everyone plays their part in it. It’s not been for the want of trying, but some of the mistakes we have made recently have been from guys probably being too desperate and wanting to move us on as a side.
“As I said to the players, we need to get everyone aligned, everyone on the same page, at the same time, and playing with the same intensity. Today, I think you saw that.”
Handed the dream start to their European campaign, the Chiefs headed into their next tussle against Glasgow Warriors buoyed with the capture of Argentinian prop Enrique Pieretto in the build-up to the game. With Baxter keen to ensure he had plenty of cover at tight-head, the signing of the 24-year-old appeared another smart piece of business from Exeter’s leader.
Pieretto’s first look of his new club would certainly give him reason for optimism as the Chiefs maintained their perfect start to the Champions Cup, this time collecting maximum reward against visiting Glasgow Warriors at Sandy Park.
In what was Stuart Hogg’s first meeting against his former club, all eyes were on the Scottish star as he took to the field against his former employers. It was, however, his team-mates who took centre stage in a 34-18 win, tries from Jonny Hill, Slade, Sam Simmonds and O’Flaherty the highlights in another dominant display.
The victory, though, came at some cost with skipper Jack Yeandle forced off during the first half with a broken arm. It would be months before he would get anywhere near a return to competitive action, meaning the workload up front would need to be shared by the likes of Cowan-Dickie, Elvis Taione, Jack Innard and Jordon Poole.
With European matters put on the back burner until December, when the Chiefs would tackle Premiership rivals Sale Sharks back-to-back, it was back to domestic action for Baxter’s side in the final game of the month against visiting Wasps.
The Midlanders arrived in the region struggling for form, but until Bristol Bears earlier in the month, were the last side to win against the Chiefs on Devon soil back in April.
That loss was still clear in the thoughts of the Chiefs, who after a cagey first half against Dai Young’s side, ran riot in the second period on their way to a comprehensive 38-3 victory.
Ben Moon’s converted first half try, alongside a penalty from Joe Simmonds, helped give the hosts a 10-3 advantage at the turn. However, when push came to shove in the second half, the Chiefs turned the screw emphatically to record further tries from Cowan-Dickie, O’Flaherty, Alec Hepburn and a penalty try to ensure their place at the summit of the division heading into December.
“That’s more like it,” said Baxter. “To me, today like I was watching a genuine Exeter Chiefs Premiership performance, the kind we have seen for the last two years. It’s where we just perform well over the course of 80 minutes and we just collect points.
“It can be through pick-and-go’s, maul tries, it can be scrum penalty tries, or a scorcher like we saw from Tom O’Flaherty. They can come in a variety of ways if you keep that pressure on.
“What I thought we did well today was we just kept genuine pressure on Wasps for the whole game. Yes, there were times when Wasps had their moments, but I thought we scrambled fantastically well to defend our try-line.
“Also, I though second half we really realigned our energies to what really mattered which, when you watch the game, were big sets of defence, good work in the set-piece and good continuity at the breakdown. When we did the mainline, that when we were in control. When we didn’t, that was when Wasps got some momentum and hurt us a little bit.
“Overall, though, I have to credit the players because they have ticked all the boxes in terms of where they have aligned their energy today.”
