Hepher's joy as Saxons triumph

By Mark Stevens
11/6/2016

Exeter Chiefs assistant coach Ali Hepher got his reign as England Saxons head coach off to a winning start as his side defeated South Africa A 32-24 in Bloemfontein.

The visitors dominated the first half to lead 22-3 at the break after three tries from Alec Hepburn, Samesa Rokoduguni and Dan Robson, plus two conversions and a penalty from fly-half Danny Cipriani.

However, South Africa fought back in the second period hauling themselves to within a point thanks to tries from Francois Brummer, Piet Van Zyl and Sikhumbuzo Notshe.

With little to choose between either side heading into the dying minutes, Chiefs newcomer Ollie Devoto made sure of the win for the Saxons when he crossed for a late score following good build up work involving Christian Wade and Sam James.

Hepher (pictured) admitted post match that he was pleased with his side’s success, but insists there is still more to come from the Saxons, who included Exeter stars Hepburn, Devoto and Don Armand from the outset, before adding Dave Ewers and Mitch Lees off the bench in the second half.

“Hats off to the guys, they dug in at the end to come away with a score at a crucial time to close the game. I’m really pleased - we still have an opportunity to win the series and are already thinking towards next week,” said Hepher.

"We could have gone about it a bit better in the second half but hats off to the guys, they dug in at the end and came away with a crucial score to close the game.

"I'm really pleased. We've set up an opportunity to try and win the series now. We are already thinking towards next week and we'll start preparing for that."

The Saxons now travel to Cape Town to prepare for the second and final game at Outeniqua Park in George on Friday (KO 6.10pm BST).