Chiefs 42 Harlequins 28

 

 

Exeter Chiefs 42

Harlequins 28

Mark Stevens at Sandy Park

Exeter Chiefs maintained their unbeaten home record as they saw off visiting Harlequins with a stunning five-try performance at Sandy Park.

In an enthralling Aviva Premiership encounter - one which was up in the air until the hour mark - it was Rob Baxter's side who produced the stronger finish as tries from Brett Sturgess, Ben White, Jason Shoemark (2) and Sireli Naqelevuki, together with 17 points from Gareth Steenson, helped the Chiefs claim their third victory of the campaign.

For Harlequins, who countered with tries from Nick Evans, Ugo Monye and Karl Dickson, the loss was their second in succession and director of rugby Conor O'Shea promised post match that there would be an immediate response from his side next week.

Unbeaten at home this season following victories over Sale Sharks and Saracens, it's on the road where the Chiefs have been struggling to hit top form with their latest loss coming a week ago away to Leicester Tigers. And after a bruising encounter at Welford Road, Baxter rang the changes for the visit of the defending Premiership champions to Devon.

Into the pack came Simon Alcott, Dean Mumm (pictured) and White - the latter two making their first-ever Premiership starts, whilst behind Steenson was recalled at fly-half and Phil Dollman came into the midfield.

Harlequins, meanwhile, also made changes to their line-up from that which suffered defeat on home soil to Saracens seven days earlier. Up front Mark Lambert was given the nod over Joe Marler in the front-row, whilst Karl Dickson was preferred to Danny Care at scrum-half.

Despite the new-looks to both teams, it was the Chiefs who came flying out of the traps as Steenson - making his first Premiership start since Saracens back in May - who slotted the home side in front on three minutes with the first penalty of the game.

Almost immediately, Harlequins had the chance to restore parity when Evans was afforded his first pot at goal after No.8 Richard Baxter was pulled up for side entry at a ruck. Thankfully for the home side the New Zealander pulled his effort wide of the mark, but he was on song moments later when referee Martin Fox singled out Carl Rimmer for dropping his bind at a scrum.

The Chiefs, however, were soon back on the offensive and reclaimed their lead on 12 minutes when an excellent burst from home full-back Luke Arscott saw him carve his way through the heart of the visitors defence, before the ball was recycled at pace to the right where Sturgess was the beneficiary of a four-on-two overlap to race in for the try, which Steenson duly converted.

It was just reward for an enterprising start from the home side, but Harlequins are made of strong stuff and in the space of five minutes that hit back with deadly effect as first Evans landed a penalty, before he then claimed their opening converted score as won the foot race following a charge down of Steenson's intended clearance.

To their credit, Exeter made light of the setback and came within a whisker of an instant counter as a great handling move saw debutant Mumm release Tom Johnson towards the corner. As the England flanker tore down the right flank at pace, he looked set to add Exeter's second score - only to be felled just yards from the line by a last-gasp tackle from Mike Brown.

The let-off was shortlived for Conor O'Shea's men as the Chiefs extended their lead when Steenson slotted his second penalty of the half to make it 16-11.

However, such was the rollercoaster nature of the contest, it was only a matter of time before the Londoners countered with their latest attacking punch. With just three minutes to the interval, a sustained spell of pressure proved telling as Harlequins worked the opening for winger Monye to trundle over, Evans obliging with the extras to give his side a slender lead at the turn

HALF TIME    EXETER CHIEFS 16    HARLEQUINS 18

With little to choose between either side in an absorbing encounter, it was again the home side who were first to show after the break. Determined work - between both the forwards and the backs - saw them drive deep into the visiting 22 and following one final surge for the whitewash, it was flanker White who emerged from the mass of bodies to claim his second try, converted by Steenson, in as many games.

Now with the bit between their teeth, the Chiefs went in search of further reward and were denied again just inches from the line as a cover tackle prevented leading try-scorer Jess from squeezing over in the left corner.

At the other end, Clegg - on as a replacement for the injured Evans - failed with his first shot at the target, but made no mistake shortly after when he converted Harlequins' third score. The replacement fly-half was able to pick off a pass from Jess in midfield, before racing down field and then offloading to the waiting Dickson, who did the rest by dotting down under the posts.

It was a sucker punch for the Chiefs to take, but Baxter's side produced the perfect response hitting their rivals with a Shoemark (pictured) double in almost as many minutes. The Kiwi centre bagged his first just past the hour mark when he finished off good approach work involving Phil Dollman and Will Chudley - and then added the all-important fourth score when he pounced on some poor handling from centre Jordan Turner-Hall.

Shoemark's double certainly sent the Sandy Park faithful into raptures, but still there was time for more scoring at both ends.

Clegg countered with a penalty for Harlequins, before the Chiefs put the icing on their cake with a fifth try through Fijian powerhouse Naqelevuki, who picked a lovely line before barging his way through a series of defenders to score. Steenson duly fired over the necessary extras to cap a wonderful day at the office for the Devonians.

Chiefs: L Arscott (S Naqelevuki 28); I Whitten, P Dollman, J Shoemark (I Mieres 77), M Jess; G Steenson, H Thomas (W Chudley 58); B Sturgess (B Moon 70), S Alcott (N Clark 62), C Rimmer (C Budgen 79); D Mumm, J Hanks (A Muldowney 62); T Johnson, B White (D  Ewers 68), R Baxter (capt).

Tries - Sturgess, White, Shoemark (2), Naqelevuki; Conversions - Steenson (4); Penalties - Steenson (3)

Harlequins: M Brown (O Lindsay-Hague 70); S Stegmann, M Hopper, J Turner-Hall, U Monye; N Evans (R Clegg 45), K Dickson (D Care 59); M Lambert (J Marler 49), J Gray (R Buchanan 68), J Johnston (W Collier 68); O Kohn, G Robson (C Matthews 28); T Guest (M Fa'asavalu 46), C Robshaw, N Easter.

Tries - Evans, Monye, Dickson; Conversions - Evans, Clegg; Penalties - Evans (2), Clegg

Referee: M Fox

Touch Judges: P Huckle & G Copsey

4th Official: L Pearce

Attendance: 8,472

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS v Leinster (A), Heineken Cup, Saturday, October 13 (3.40pm)