Chiefs 31 Clermont Auvergne 14

Exeter Chiefs 31

ASM Clermont Auvergne 14

By Mark Stevens at Sandy Park

New England coach Eddie Jones witnessed first hand what many in the Westcountry having been bleating on about for some time - Exeter Chiefs are the fast becoming the growing force within the European game.

Not content with proving their worth in the Aviva Premiership, now Rob Baxter’s side blooded the nose of one of the star names within the Champions Cup, sealing a maximum haul against visiting ASM Clermont Auvergne.

Three years ago it was the French outfit who were ruling the roost, twice dispatching of Devon’s finest in their inaugural year in the then Heineken Cup.

Since then, Baxter has quietly gone about constructing an Exeter squad that is not only proving it’s worth in domestic battle, but judging on this showing can now match the very best around.

Thomas Waldrom, a hat-trick hero seven days earlier in Coventry, maintained his rich vein of form by collecting another double, alongside further touchdowns from fellow forwards Don Armand and Mitch Lees.

Fly-half Gareth Steenson converted all four scores, as well as adding a first half penalty, as the Chiefs moved to the top of Pool Two ahead of the Ospreys.

In reply, Clermont collected first half tries through Hosea Gear and Aurelin Rougerie, both of which were converted by Morgan Parra, but that was their only reward on a magical night in Devon.

Fresh from impressive league wins over Harlequins and Wasps in the past fortnight, the Chiefs were bidding to maintain their impressive form against the star-studded Frenchmen, who boasted a wealth of international stars within their ranks.

With the Chiefs missing key trio Luke Cowan-Dickie, Dave Ewers and Henry Slade, the latter of whom sustained a broken leg at the Ricoh Arena last time out, Baxter was forced to make changes to his winning formula.

Up front, Damian Welch and Don Armand replaced England stars Geoff Parling and Tom Johnson who dropped to the bench, whilst behind Ian Whitten came in for the stricken Slade. And the Chiefs were then forced into a further change in the pre-match warm-up when centre Sam Hill limped out of the action with a hamstring injury, so Jack Nowell reverted to the centre and Olly Woodburn was promoted from the bench.

Early on and both Nowell and Woodburn were helping to lead the charge for the Chiefs, who set off at break-neck speed against last season’s beaten finalists. It was a powerful opening salvo from Baxter’s side, who having won an early penalty kicked for the left corner in pursuit of points.

It was a tactic they used to devastating effect against Wasps and on six minutes they thought it had worked a treat on home soil. Referee John Lacey was unsure following a monumental shove for the line and although the TMO admitted the ball had been grounded, just whose hand had ultimately touched down the ball he was undecided upon.

No score was awarded and Clermont duly made the most of the let-off, preceding down field to score the game’s opening points just minutes later. Using powerhouse wing Noa Nakaitaci to batter them to within sight of the line, they used a resultant scrum to set-up the platform for Camille Lopez to brush off a home defender and feed Gear, who dotted down under the sticks for the score converted by Parra.

The Chiefs countered almost immediately as Steenson landed a straight-forward penalty from in front of the posts, but home cheers proved short-lived as the French outfit landed a sucker punch of their own, adding a second try shortly after.

Initially little appeared to be on for the visitors, but when the lively Nakaitaci swotted aside the attentions of the home defence, he was able to exploit the space on the blindside before delivering a chip kick in behind they fell invitingly for Rougerie to add a second converted score.

With the wind howling into their faces, the Chiefs knew they needed to summon a response of sorts and as the half drew towards a close, they were eventually rewarded with another well-worked try.

Attacking from deep, Steenson released Ian Whitten in space, he drove forward and with trundles from Welch and Mitch Lees, suddenly Baxter’s troops were right on the frontline. A simple pick and go tactic followed from the hosts, the fruits of which eventually saw No.8 Waldrom burrow his way over for the try, which Steenson converted with aplomb.

HALF TIME EXETER CHIEFS 10 ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 14

On the resumption and the Chiefs were quickly on the offensive again, Steenson’s hanging kick-off claimed superbly by Woodburn, whose catch mid-air and subsequent burst put the home side to within inches of the French line.

Although the initial chance came and went as the Chiefs were penalised under the Clermont posts, the home side maintained their high tempo approach, winning a succession of penalties just metres from the visiting line.

Two initial catch-and-drive moves failed to bring reward, but when the Devonians drove back in field through their forwards, again Waldrom was there to pick up the ball and steamroller his way over for his second of the game. As before, Steenson obliged with the additional extras.

In front for the first time, it was the Chiefs who were using the elements to peg their rivals back at every opportunity. Still they poured forward in attack, but when Clermont turned them over inside their own 22, it took a terrific last-gasp tackle from James Short on former Saracens man David Strettle to  prevent what would have been a certain try.

Moments later and it was Woodburn, who came to the rescue for the hosts, denying the rampaging Pecili Yato the chance of scoring after some sensational offloading had set the flying Fijian marauding through the middle of the home rearguard.

In such tight games, it’s defining moments like this that can often prove the difference between winning and losing, and as the decibel levels started to rise around Sandy Park, so the Chiefs began to grow even more in stature.

Although the Chiefs were doing their best to add to their tally, far too often they were getting beaten at the breakdown battle, allowing Clermont the chance to alleviate the pressure with some penalties.

Irishman Lacey was growing increasingly irate with the actions of the Chiefs for holding on in the tackle and his patience finally boiled over when he sent full-back Phil Dollman to the sin-bin on 65 minutes.

Despite being down a man, the Chiefs continued to hold the greater attacking threat. Piling forward they were not only killing the clock, but also starving Clermont of the ball. And when Yato hit Dave Lewis with a crude high tackle, suddenly both sides were down to 14 men with ten minutes remaining.

Undeterred, Baxter’s men kept up the pressure, forcing a series of scrums that once more had them in the ascendancy. As Clermont appeared to crumble, somehow Lacey felt the need to deem the packs had merely stood up, the home faithful with rightfully incensed.

From another five-metre scrum, though, this time the Chiefs pounced as Tom Johnson picked from the base, drove forward and when the ball was worked round the corner through two phases, there was Armand to propel himself over the line for a third converted score.

Now ten points adrift, it was the visitors who had it all to do. The Chiefs, though, were standing firm in defence, a point underlined when they masterfully withheld a Clermont line-out drive to win turnover ball.

Turning defence into attack masterfully, now the home side had the try bonus point in their crosshairs and - with the final move of an absorbing contest - they were duly rewarded when Lees rumbled over from close range to spark scenes of delirium around the stadium.

The win, a first-ever against Clermont, lifts Baxter’s side to the summit, but he was the first to recognise post-match that this latest success has made next week’s trip to the Stade Marcel Michelin doubly tough.


Chiefs: P Dollman; O Woodburn, I Whitten (M Campagnaro 29-33), J Nowell, J Short; G Steenson, W Chudley (D Lewis 66); B Moon (C Rimmer 65), J Yeandle (capt, E Taione 67), T Francis (M Low 65); M Lees, D Welch (G Parling 61); D Armand, J Salvi, T Waldrom (T Johnson 67). Replacement (not used): W Hooley

Tries - Waldrom (2), Armand, Lees; Conversions - Steenson (4); Penalty - Steenson

Yellow Card: Dollman

Clermont Auvergne: S Spedding; D Strettle  (A Vulivuli 32-39), A Rougerie (A Vulivuli h/t), H Gear, N Nakaitaci; C Lopez (P Fernandez 65), M Parra (L Radoslavjevic 75); T Domingo (R Chaume 48), J Ulugia (M Van Der Westhuizen 60), C Ric (D Kotze 60); P Jedrasiak (F Van Der Merwe 39), S Vahaamahina (J Cancoriet 70); P Yato, V Kolelishvili, D Chouly (capt).

Yellow Card: Yato

Tries - Gear, Rougerie; Conversions - Parra (2)

Referee: J Lacey

Attendance: 10,930