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A red card and 12 tries as Exeter close gap with win over Tigers

By PA
PA

Exeter kept up the pressure on Premiership leaders Bristol with victory against 14-man Leicester, who played their full part in a cracking 12-try encounter.

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The Tigers thoroughly deserved their bonus point, after the 13th-minute sending off of their South African winger Kobus Van Wyk, with their impressive driving maul showing all the hallmarks of head coach Steve Borthwick.

Exeter shone in the early stages and were rewarded with a close-range score after only 12 minutes from England prop Harry Williams, converted by Joe Simmonds.

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Matters took a further turn for the worse for the Tigers a minute later when Van Wyk was red carded for a shoulder to the head when tackling Exeter scrum-half Jack Maunder.

Olly Woodburn almost capitalised immediately on their one-man advantage when he was forced out in the corner, but another superb handling move provided a touchdown for Tom O’Flaherty, with Joe Simmonds’ boot making it 14-0.

Leicester were reduced to 13 men in the 29th minute when Dan Kelly killed the ball on his own try line after he had stopped Facundo Cordero just short following an O’Flaherty break and was yellow carded. From the quick tap penalty, Dave Ewers forced his way over for his second try in two weeks.

Simmonds converted that and the bonus-point try three minutes later for young centre Harvey Skinner – his first in the Premiership – after being sent clear by Sam Simmonds following another wonderful display of handling.

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However, Leicester deserve great credit for the way they ended the half.

On virtually their first visit to the Exeter 22, a lovely break and dummy by skipper Hanro Liebenberg off the back of a scrum on the 22 created a score for Argentinean international lock Tomas Lavanini, superbly converted by Zack Henry.

Then talented young scrum-half Jack Van Poortvliet sold a fine dummy off the back of a driving maul to snipe over for a second score to give the Tigers a glimmer of hope at the break at 28-12 behind.

Any hopes of a dramatic turnaround appeared to be firmly scotched when Joe Simmonds’ chip over the defence was gathered by brother Sam for his 14th Premiership try of the season, with Joe converting.

Tigers delivered an instant riposte, though, when Scotland international centre Matt Scott finished off by the posts after a Tigers driving maul, with replacement Johnny McPhillips improving the score.

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Chiefs winger Woodburn celebrated the birth of his first child Solomon during the week with the Chiefs’ sixth try in the 50th minute after another fine move, before the maul served the Tigers well once again with a converted touchdown from hooker Charlie Clare.

A yellow card for Exeter’s Cordero and a visiting try from Liebenberg got Tigers to within nine points, but Exeter closed the game out with a Jacques Vermeulen touchdown to complete the season’s double over the Midlanders.

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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