Exeter spared blushes at the death to hold on against Glasgow
Henry Slade’s late touchline conversion of Zack Wimbush’s try secured Exeter a 19-17 victory over Glasgow which sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Investec Champions Cup.
The Exiles could have lost in a dramatic end to the match, though, as Glasgow secured a five-metre scrum from the restart.
It was Exeter’s put-in but the ball ran loose for replacement Euan Ferrie to crash over but TMO replays showed he had broken from the scrum early and the try was disallowed.
Jacques Vermeulen, Dan Frost and Wimbush scored Exeter‘s tries with Slade converting two.
Kyle Rowe and Sione Tuipulotu grabbed the tries for Glasgow. Duncan Weir converted both and George Horne added a penalty.
Glasgow dominated the opening 10 minutes as the hosts were contained in their own half. An unfavourable bounce prevented the Scots from opening the scoring before Exeter suffered a setback when their number eight, Greg Fisilau, was yellow-carded for a high shot on Weir.
Weir departed for an HIA before Horne kicked a straightforward penalty with Chiefs receiving another setback when their centre, Rory O’Loughlin, withdrew with a shoulder injury to be replaced by Joe Hawkins.
In Fisilau’s absence a burst from Ally Miller threatened the home defence but inexplicably Horne dropped the flanker’s pass and the try-scoring opportunity was lost.
Horne’s penalty was the only score of a disjointed first quarter so Fisilau and Weir were both able to return without any addition to the scoreboard.
After 27 minutes, Glasgow deservedly extended their lead. A well-judged chip ahead from Horne saw the covering Ben Hammersley only succeed in knocking the ball into Rowe’s hands who scooted away to score.
The Chiefs did not strike a blow in the first half-hour but they then built up their first period of sustained pressure and were rewarded when Vermeulen finished off a succession of forward drives but earlier Glasgow did have a chance to clear the lines only for Weir to knock on in the in-goal area.
Slade converted with the last kick of the half so his side trailed 10-7 at the interval.
After the restart, Exeter maintained their momentum in terms of territory but both sides made basic handling errors so the early stages of the second half were a non-event.
Glasgow brought on internationals George Turner, Richie Gray and Jamie Bhatti in an attempt to shore up their forward effort and in time to see their side score a splendid try.
Scott Cummings made a clean break before some skilful handling ended with Tuipulotu evading two coverers to score. Weir converted and Glasgow held a 10-point advantage going into the final quarter.
Exeter lost full-back Tommy Wyatt with a leg injury but almost immediately afterwards came back into contention when Frost forced his way over from close range.
Three minutes later, Exeter looked to have drawn level when replacement Wimbush raced on to a chip ahead from Lewis Pearson to touchdown but TMO replays showed an earlier knock-on.
Apart from Tuipulotu’s try, the second half was one-way traffic in Exeter’s favour and it came as no surprise when they scored the winning try when a well-executed move resulted in Wimbush diving over and Slade’s vital kick, before Glasgow were cruelly denied in the final play.
ABSOLUTE DRAMA 🤯
Re-live the rollercoaster in the final minutes between @ExeterChiefs and @GlasgowWarriors 🎢#InvestecChampionsCup #EXEvGLA pic.twitter.com/lql29QPjV8
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) January 13, 2024
Comments on RugbyPass
“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
37 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
5 Go to comments