The 'disappointing thing' to Exeter Chiefs despite victory

Exeter Chiefs attack coach Dave Walder praised the way his team linked together after a two-month break from Prem rugby due to the Six Nations Championship with a 26-14 home win over Sale Sharks.

Chiefs enjoyed a flying start with two tries in the opening 12 minutes from Stephen Varney and Campbell Ridl, with Olly Woodburn also crossing to help give Exeter a 19-7 lead at the interval.

Paul Brown-Bampoe then secured a bonus point with his second-half try as Chiefs held Sale at bay to move third in the table.

Walder said: “With 10 minutes to go, we made it a little bit harder for ourselves than maybe we could have done, but we are ultimately delighted with the victory after a short week, guys coming back from long-term injuries and international duty.

“The key was how quickly we gelled, and in the first half I thought we were outstanding. In the second half we probably took our eye off the ball a little bit and Sale came back into it, but it was about getting the result.

“You want to start fast at home, get the crowd behind you, and show you are right in the game emotionally, and I thought we did that really well.

“The disappointing thing was we didn’t get a third try in that early period, and if we had done that it would probably have been a slightly more comfortable afternoon.

“Letting them back in the way we did was a little bit disappointing, but we are delighted with how we fought until the end and to end up winning relatively comfortably.”

Despite the defeat, Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson was pleased with his side’s performance after they rested England trio Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Roebuck and George Ford ahead of their Champions Cup round of 16 tie at Harlequins in a fortnight’s time.

Ernst van Rhyn and Dan du Preez crossed for the Sharks, and Sanderson said: “I’m disappointed with the result, but I’m very happy with many aspects of the game and I’m not just talking about the fight we showed right until the death.

“I thought our scrum functioned very well, especially in the first half. Defensively we held them three or four times, and with a bit of ambition and accuracy in attack, we could have come away to a very hard place and picked up a result.”

Sale saw Wales international prop WillGriff John carried off on a stretcher six minutes from time with a head injury, and Sanderson said: “I have got to check on him but he has got a bang on his head.

“He has just come back from a lay-off because of a concussion, and when you back up concussions, generally it is wise to have a prolonged period of time out.

“That is what I can expect moving forward, but we will follow the concussion protocols and see where he is at.”