Match Reaction - Rob Hunter
By Mark Stevens
13/11/22
Exeter forwards coach Rob Hunter admitted there was a sense of relief amongst the Chiefs squad after they returned to winning ways with a 22-17 victory over London Irish at Sandy Park.
First half tries from Dave Ewers, Ruben Van Heerden and Olly Woodburn paved the way for the Devonians, who had come into the Round 10 encounter on the back of three successive defeats.
Irish played their part in an entertaining encounter, hitting back with second half tries from So'otala Fa'aso'o and Tom Pearson, but it was not enough to thwart the Chiefs.
Understandably, Hunter was a happy man at the final whistle, stating: “I guess relief is a good way to put it. We put ourselves in a good position, particularly first half, but come the end you could say we were relieved to see that final whistle. We did a lot of good things, but we also managed to punch ourselves in the face a few times, so we’re happy to get the result.”
Having been undone at the death by league leaders Saracens in their last home game, Hunter said it was nice to repay the faith of the Exeter supporters after a sticky few weeks.
“We needed to win here after that last game [against Saracens],” said Hunter. “We’ve not been here for a while, so it’s nice to reward those folk who have come along today. As always, there is bit to work on, but we’ll take this result tonight.”
With international call-ups and injuries again robbing the Chiefs of a high number of their frontline stars, it was left to the club’s promising youngsters to take to the field and prove their worth. Welshman Dafydd Jenkins, who assumed the captaincy for the first time, was among those leading the charge for the home side.
“There were plenty of positives, the biggest of which was we had a lot of young guys either making debut or having either their second or third game at this level,” continued Hunter. “Daf, for his first game as captain, led the side really well and others stepped up as well.”
Hunter sees similarities of a few years ago when the Chiefs adopted a similar tactic to help bring through the likes of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds and Henry Slade to the first team ranks.
“It feels a bit like 2013 when we brought through a huge group of youngsters that went onto be very successful for us,” said the Exeter coach. “Having this approach is very important and we’re very pleased with how they are progressing. There will, however, be lessons and learns along the way, a few heart-stopper moments, but it’s the only way for them to learn.”
In what was a ruthless first half showing from the Chiefs in attack, the hosts then dug deep into their defensive reserves after the break to hold the Exiles at bay.
Irish are a very good side, one of the best coached in the division, so we have lots of respect for them,” continued Hunter. “They are well drilled, but we were very pleased with our defence, particularly second half. The double tackles, our line-speed, it created errors from them. Also, our close game was also very good, so full credit to the forwards for the way they took their chances.
“The key now is getting all those bits and bobs and pulling them all together at the same time. If we can do that, then we’ll give ourselves an even bigger chance to get things from games.”