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Ali Hepher delighted as Exeter back up Saracens win at London Irish

By Online Editors
Exeter head coach Ali Hepher. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Exeter head coach Ali Hepher praised his players for backing up last weekend’s victory over fierce rivals Saracens by claiming another Gallagher Premiership win.

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The Saracens success – a game given added spice by the salary cap scandal that saw Saracens docked 35 league points and fined more than £5 million – meant Exeter ended 2019 as league leaders.

And they remain top of the pile heading into a fortnight’s Champions Cup action after beating Madejski Stadium hosts London Irish 45-28.

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“We are really pleased with the way the guys fought out there, especially after last week and the emotion we chucked into that,” Chiefs head coach Hepher said.

“In the past, we have slipped off the next week.

“It is a tough situation when you do have such a big game mid-season, and then you have to respond to it, but this is what the side is getting much better at.

“It wasn’t perfect. There were a lot of mistakes and discipline was obviously a factor, but we had enough fight to win against a tough side.”

Exeter delivered a strong bonus-point display, decisively scoring three converted tries in seven minutes before half-time.

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Irish battled away to claim four tries of their own and collect a losing bonus point, with Exeter briefly being reduced to 13 men in the second half when wing Olly Woodburn and centre Ollie Devoto were sin-binned for deliberate knock-ons.

“We need to be a little smarter with how we deal with those situations when we are one or two (players) down, but we hung in there enough and got a penalty to move outside a two-score lead,” Hepher added.

“You cannot, for a 30-plus game season, hit 100 per cent mentality and be on it every single week.

“You have got to make sure you pick your moments. You will have slight dips, but you have got to make sure those dips are manageable.”

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Lock Dave Dennis, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and Devoto all followed Sam Hill over the Irish line before the break, and there was no way back for an Exiles side condemned to a third-successive league defeat.

Hill added his second try just after the break, before substitute scrum-half Stu Townsend crossed.

And although Irish responded with touchdowns by wing Belgium Tuatagaloa, number eight Albert Tuisue, wing Ollie Hassell-Collins and flanker Steve Mafi – all converted by Stephen Myler – Exeter were good value, with Gareth Steenson kicking 15 points.

Irish rugby director Declan Kidney said: “There were one or two things that happened around the 30-minute mark that gave Exeter momentum.

“You go in at half-time 28-7 down, teams respond in different ways. I am very proud of the way we came back into it. There were a lot of big individual efforts.

“It’s only one point, but it is a point that could make a big difference at the end of the season.

“There were a lot of good things that we did, but we need to extend that to the 80 minutes.”

Kidney, meanwhile, confirmed that Irish’s Australia international lock Adam Coleman suffered a first-half shoulder injury that forced him off.

– Press Association

In other news:

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 4 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 8 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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