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Exeter thrash Bristol at Ashton Gate

By PA
Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs – Gallagher Premiership – Ashton Gate

Exeter wings Olly Woodburn and Jack Nowell both scored two tries as the Chiefs blew away Bristol 50-14 at Ashton Gate to move top of the Premiership table.

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The Chiefs maintained their impressive record at the venue having only lost once in their last 10 visits to the ground, with a European Cup final success among their victories.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ruben Van Heerden and Richard Capstick were also on the try-scoring sheet for the visitors, with Joe Simmonds converting three of the Chiefs’ seven tries and kicking a penalty. Henry Slade added three conversions.

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Toby Fricker and Will Capon crossed for Bristol, with conversions from Callum Sheedy and AJ MacGinty.

Bristol began by turning down a couple of kickable penalties in favour of more attacking options and it paid dividends.

The home pack battered the opposition line and when the ball was recycled a well-judged kick from Sheedy was collected by Fricker, who walked over for the opening try.

Sheedy converted before Simmonds put Chiefs on the scoreboard with a straightforward penalty.

Bristol then suffered two blows in quick succession. First, Ellis Genge was yellow-carded for a high challenge on Jonny Gray before the visitors took advantage of the prop’s absence when Nowell was provided with an easy run-in.

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Genge was still in the sin-bin when the Chiefs scored again.

A couple of thunderous bursts from flanker Jacques Vermeulen took his side into Bears’ 22 before Woodburn showed great determination to squeeze his way over.

Genge returned to the action but the concession of 14 points was costly damage and Bristol needed a response.

They almost got one by launching a huge onslaught on the Exeter line but could not capitalise with Harry Randall losing possession as he attempted to dive over, leaving the Chiefs with a useful 17-7 half-time lead.

Bristol bungled the restart so Exeter had the chance to increase their advantage. They looked to have done so when prop Harry Williams forced his way over but TMO replays showed an earlier knock-on.

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However, the Devon side continued to have the better of the third quarter and were rewarded with a second try for Woodburn.

They elected to take a tap-penalty close to the hosts’ line and out-foxed their opponents by moving the ball back to the blindside for Woodburn to cross.

Minutes later, Nowell ran elusively to score the bonus-point try and Exeter were out of sight before Capon gave Bristol some respectability by crashing over from a driving line-out.

Exeter replacement Cowan-Dickie intercepted a stray pass from Chris Vui to score Exeter’s fifth before Bristol’s misery was compounded with a try from Van Heerden.

With 10 minutes remaining, Bears centre Piers O’Conor was sin-binned for a tackle in the air and a try from Capstick completed the rout as the crowd of over 19,000 made their way to the exits.

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

33 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 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

33 Go to comments
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