Exeter Chiefs simply must put Glasgow to the sword
In a relatively disheartening weekend for English clubs in the Heineken Champions Cup, Exeter Chiefs’ 31-12 win over La Rochelle was a definite and much-needed high point.
Gloucester, after being talked up prior to the game, fell to a disappointing loss at home to Toulouse, admittedly the reigning French champions, whilst Bath were unable to get passed Ulster at the Rec, in a game that will have them kicking themselves in hindsight. Sale Sharks failed to fire their shots away at Glasgow Warriors, Harlequins were comfortably and well beaten by Clermont and Saracens, having opted to focus on the Gallagher Premiership, were dispatched by Racing 92 in Paris.
The only other win for English clubs came via the resurgent Northampton Saints, whose 25-14 win over Lyon at Franklin’s Gardens was only a try bonus point away from being the perfect start for Chris Boyd’s side. It was an encouraging display from Northampton and bodes well for the coming rounds, but in terms of efficiency and the eye-catching nature of the performance, it fell short of what Exeter pulled off on France’s west coast.
It was no shadow La Rochelle side, either, with the likes of Victor Vito, Dany Priso and Grégory Alldritt all involved up front and the incisive talents of Geoffrey Doumayrou, Levani Botia and Jérémy Sinzelle deployed in the back line. It was a healthy and loaded XV that is more than capable of running through, round and over teams, particularly at home.
Impressive away wins in Europe are nothing new for Exeter, though. Their 27-24 win in Montpellier in 2017 was a memorable one for the club and its fans, whilst they recorded a 20-12 win over Bordeaux the season before. In recent seasons, they’ve also managed to pick up losing bonus points away at Munster, Ulster, Castres, Glasgow Warriors, Clermont and Leinster, as well as beating local rivals Gloucester last season.
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They’ve been doing enough on the road to qualify for the quarter-finals in those campaigns, though those results have usually come after the club had dug a hole for itself at Sandy Park, a venue which, despite being one of the toughest places to travel to in the Premiership, is not a European fortress.
In the 2016/17 season, they were beaten by Clermont and Bordeaux at Sandy Park, with Leinster raiding their Devon home the following year. Last season, they drew with Munster and lost to Gloucester in their home pool games. In fact, the only time that Exeter have made the knockout stages of the tournament, the 2015/16 season, was the only campaign that they had a clean sweep of wins in their three home games.
As good as they have been on the road in Europe, the club’s home form has let them down. Whether that is a mental barrier for the squad, the coaching staff not developing the right game plan for contests in which they should be considered favourites or simply opposition teams raising their own games for the challenge, it is something which needs to change if Exeter are to go from Premiership heavyweights to European contenders.
The complete nature of their win over La Rochelle certainly promises optimism for the club’s expectant fanbase, although like in seasons past, it will count for nothing if they can’t consolidate that performance and result at home against Glasgow this weekend.
If they can repeat that level of performance against the Scottish side, there’s a good chance that they will head into the December back-to-back fixtures with two wins and 10 points to their name. Their back-to-back comes against Sale Sharks, a side they know well from the Premiership and against whom they have had considerable success in recent seasons. On paper, Exeter look as though they could be in very good shape for not only qualification, but a home quarter-final come Christmas.
"I don’t think he even said, 'Hi', he just put it there," Tom Curry #EnglandRugby #Springboks #SaleSharks pic.twitter.com/IEdozZ0rVs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 20, 2019
Paper can be misleading, though, and there a number of home games in the Champions Cup that Exeter have previously prepared for as favourites and then they have come unstuck.
The early return to action of the club’s England contingent was certainly influential in their win over La Rochelle and they will need those players to replicate that against Glasgow on Saturday. Henry Slade’s offensive and defensive decision-making was vital, whilst Jack Nowell and Luke Cowan-Dickie offered impact from the bench.
Fellow internationals Nic White and Stuart Hogg were also important cogs in the win, with the latter’s meeting with his former team certain to be one of the major narratives going into the game. Both contributed to efficiency of Exeter when in possession, whilst new signing Jacques Vermeulen was a force in the defensive line, as La Rochelle struggled to break down the relentless energy and discipline of the Chiefs.
Vermeulen and Dave Ewers, if the flank pairing is retained when Rob Baxter announces his squad for the game, will have their work cut out keeping Callum Gibbins, Fraser Brown and the mobile Glasgow pack quiet at the breakdown. If they can, and Exeter enjoy relatively secure ball at the contact area, they have shown they have the offensive precision to hurt teams in multi-phase attacks.
Something which will boost confidence in the south-west is that Glasgow’s away form to start the season has been poor. They have lost to the Cheetahs and Dragons so far in the Guinness PRO14 and although they chalked up a win over Zebre earlier this month, Exeter will be the biggest challenge on the road they have faced so far this season. It’s an unenviable task for head coach Dave Rennie, who recently confirmed he will be leaving the club at the end of the season to take up the same role with the Wallabies.
If Exeter are to truly count themselves among contenders for this season’s title, Saturday is the day for them to be ruthless and show they can consistently perform at the level they did last weekend.
The playing squad have experience of European competition, the young and promising players have matured into top-class contributors and with Saracens operating under a dark cloud of their own making, Exeter have now become the posterboys for English rugby.
Any excuses they may have had previously have run out and it’s time for them to make the leap.
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Comments on RugbyPass
This looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to comments