Chiefs 43 Harlequins 42
Exeter Chiefs 43
Harlequins 42
Mark Stevens at Sandy Park
Exeter’s young sensation, Christ Tshiunza, capped a man-of-the-match display as his score deep into injury time settled victory for the Chiefs in a bonkers game of Gallagher Premiership rugby against Harlequins at Sandy Park.
The 20-year-old Welsh international powered his way over to seal what was a memorable victory for the Devonians, sparking scenes of delirium amongst the home faithful who having seen their side lead 31-7 at the turn, but then saw them implode during a staggering second half fightback from the Londoners.
The success meant the Chiefs not only maintained their 100% record at the start of the new season but, more importantly, underlined the ’never-say-die attitude’ that now exists within this current crop of players.
The winning score didn’t come without controversy, Stuart Hogg’s pass to Patrick Schickerling in the build-up certainly came under scrutiny, but after numerous checks on the big screen, referee Ian Tempest stuck to his guns, awarding the match-winning score.
For the second time in weeks it was late drama at Sandy Park, but it mattered not to the majority inside the stadium, who had feared their side had shot themselves in the foot during the second period, where Harlequins hit them with 28 unanswered points.
Buoyed by the return of several notable names ahead of kick-off, the Chiefs tweaked their winning formula of the previous week at Worcester, handing starts to Luke Cowan-Dickie, Harry Williams, Ruben Van Heerden and Dave Ewers in the pack, whilst Henry Slade returned in the midfield after undergoing shoulder surgery this summer.
From the outset, the Chiefs tore into their rivals, savaging them with an opening blast that was not only relentless, but brutal in its extremes. Just three minutes had elapsed when Williams marked his return to starting duties by powering his way over by the Harlequins posts.
The tight-head had sat out the opening two weeks of the season, but restored for this latest match-up, the England international did not disappoint, rounding off some heavyweight ball carrying from the Chiefs.
Joe Simmonds banged over the resultant conversion, then a penalty just moments later, as the Chiefs quickly established a ten-point lead in as many minutes.
The visitors looked for an instant response, but Luke Northmore’s hopes of a quick riposte were chalked off by the officials. Following several TV replays,it appeared the centre had put his foot in touch as he attempted to dot the ball down.
At the other end, the Chiefs were quickly back into their attacking groove and they added a second try on 11 minutes. Joe Simmonds and Cowan-Dickie led the initial thrust, before Stu Townsend picked from the base of the ruck and - aided by Olly Woodburn - found his way over for the score, again converted by the boot of Simmonds.
The Chiefs were flying, whereas Harlequins seemingly had no answer to the threat of their power game. The hosts continued to boss proceedings, adding a third score when Tshiunza was apply to apply the finish to a slick Exeter attack.
Townsend initially linked with Harvey Skinner in midfield, but as it was worked from right to left, Simmondsfound Woodburn, who drew in the cover to release Tshiunza on the burst. Still with plenty to do, the towering forward merely put his head down, before brushing aside the attentions of three Harlequins defenders to run in un under the posts for his first-ever Premiership try.
It was no more than the Chiefs deserved for their efforts, but Harlequins - somewhat shell-shocked by on-field events - needed to regroup. Indeed, they did give themselves a brief lifeline as the returning Marcus Smith instigated a clever move to send Cadan Murley over in the corner to reduce the deficit.
But no sooner had Harlequins done that, they shot themselves in the foot when, with just two minutes of the half remaining, a spilled ball from centre Lennox Anyanwu allowed Skinner to scoop up possession on halfway and outrun the cover defence to score Exeter’s all-important bonus point try.
HALF TIME: EXETER CHIEFS 31 HARLEQUINS 7
As the two sides emerged for the start of the second half, the BT Sport commentators revealed their new ‘Win Predictor’ was reading 99% in favour of the Chiefs, who quickly picked up from where they left off at the end of the opening half.
Again, some bulldozing collisions positioned the home side within sniffing distance of the Harlequins line but, unlike the first half, the Chiefs failed to capitalise on their early dominance as two gilt-edged chances came and went without the scoreboard being altered.
Harlequins made the most of the let-off and with their ears no doubt still ringing from a half time lashing, suddenly they sprung into life with deadly effect. Smith - on his first start of the season - began to take charge of proceedings, using his silky skill-set to prise open what had earlier looked like a rock-solid Chiefs defensive line.
Full-back Tyrone Green started the mayhem as he crashed over, despite the best efforts of Exeter skipper Cowan-Dickie, for the first of four converted tries in the space of 14 minutes.
Murley was next, claiming his second of the afternoon, this time rounding off another devastating attack from the visitors, before Northmore latched onto an audacious offload from Anyanwu just outside his own 22 to race unopposed to the Exeter posts.
Smith had banged over the extras to all three scores before he added another further two points to Northmore’s second score which arrived on the hour mark when the centre picked a lovely line to race right through the heart of the Exeter midfield.
In the blink of an eye, Harlequins had gone from trailing by 24 points at the break to that of now leading by four as the contest headed into its final quarter.
It seemed Sandy Park was in a sense of disbelief, unsure as to just what they had just witnessed during a phenomenal period of attacking genius from the visitors.
Something was needed - and needed fast!
The Chiefs looked to their bench to find some kind of answer to the hammer blows being inflicted on them. Schickerling, Hogg and Sam Simmonds, who it was confirmed ahead of kick-off will be joining Montpellier next season, were all thrust into the action.
And it was Schickerling - the hero against Leicester a fortnight ago - who again came up trumps, powering his way over from some sustained Exeter pressure in the Harlequins 22 to re-establish his side’s lead with a fifth try.
Harlequins, though, would no quietly and when they received the boost of seeing Exeter centre Ian Whitten sent to the sidelines for the remainder of the match for a professional foul, they used their numerical advantage to set-up Joe Marchant for a try in the corner.
The England international was able to dot down unopposed, gobbling up a precise cross-field kick from Smith, to put his side back in the lead. The additional conversion from the touchline by Smith meant the Chiefs had to ‘go for broke’ if they were to rescue anything from the game.
With the minutes ticking by, it appeared for all money that Harlequins had produced the comeback of all comebacks. However, the Chiefs had one final throw of the dice and although camped deep inside their own 22, they looked to attack from deep.
Spinning the ball across their back division, Hogg gathered possession before setting off on a jet-propelled run down the right flank. Although he was clattered, he was able to offload to Schickerling. It was a pass which, over the years, we’ve seen given and not given.
In this case, it fell in favour of the Chiefs, who worked the ball back inside and across the length of the pitch through the hands of Sam Maunder, Jonny Gray, Richard Capstick and Woodburn, who simple offload to the left released Tshiunza into the pathway for glory.
It was a moment he wasn’t going to squander, thundering his way over the line. Not seen Saracens were defeated in the 2017 Premiership semi-final has a roar so loud been heard in these parts. It was, however, a moment that will live long in the memory of the young forward, whose future on the big stage is set to shine bright for years to come.
Chiefs: J Simmonds (S Hogg 58); J Nowell, H Slade (R O’Loughlin 76), I Whitten, O Woodburn; H Skinner, S Townsend (S Maunder 50); A Hepburn (J Kenny 53), L Cowan-Dickie (capt, J Yeandle 48), H Williams (P Schickerling 60); R van Heerden (D Jenkins 50), J Gray; D Ewers (S Simmonds 50), C Tshiunza, R Capstick.
Tries - Williams, Townsend, Tshiunza (2), Skinner, Schickerling; Conversions - J Simmonds (4), Slade; Penalty - J Simmonds
Harlequins: T Green; J Marchant, L Northmore, L Anyanwu, C Murley; M Smith, L Gjaltema (D Care 40); S Garcia Botta (F Baxter 55), J Walker (capt, G Head 53, S Kerrod 58), W Louw; G Hammond (D Lamb 57), I Herbst; J Kenningham, W Evans, A White (M Jurevicius 68). Replacements (not used): T Allen, N David.
Try - Murley (2), Green, Northmore (2), Marchant; Conversions - Smith (6)
Referee: I Tempest
Attendance: 9,399