Zach Wimbush impressed as he helped Exeter beat Newcastle at home. Photo: Getty Images/Bob Bradford Exeter Chiefs 25 Newcastle Falcons 16
There may have been little hope for some observers at the start of the season, but Exeter's new signings this season continue to cause quite a stir.
Chiefs' young team «returned to the playoff position. and they got the desired first-half bonus point thanks to tries from Greg Fisilau, Zach Wimbush, Scott Sio and Rus Tuima.
“The boys could have made a lot of excuses, but they didn’t find one,” said after the final whistle, Chief Director of Rugby Rob Baxter. “We had to make changes to the starting line-up. Then Ethan Roots got hit literally in the last 30 seconds of our warm-up and we had to replace him, and then we get off to a bad start, we make a couple of defensive mistakes and we're seven points behind on a wet, windy day.
< p>“But we just got on with it, got on with it and slowly got back into the game, we did everything we could to get the bonus point and although we were a little nervous at times in the second half, I'm impressed. with the guys, because today they could have made a lot of mistakes, but instead they did a lot right.”
Steve Diamond — whose side could have snatched a late bonus point if Brett Connon had added a fourth successful penalty with the last kick of the game — could see the positives in Newcastle's performance.
“Our discipline is The first half wasn't very good, we had two players score during the game [Guy Pepper and Brian Byrne]. game and gave an opportunistic try,” he said. “I thought the game in the second half was pretty good.
“Getting Newcastle out of the doldrums they were in without being really competitive — I thought we were competitive today against a good team who don't lose too much at home. With a little more skill and knowledge, we can get some wins in the rest of the season because the guys are working hard.
I know we had a chance to get a bonus point at the end, but I don't blame it on Brett.»
Rus Tuima scores Exeter's third try to earn a bonus point before the break. Photo: Getty Images/Bob Bradford
As the country's top coaches prepare for next month's Grand National, English rugby's thoroughbreds are preparing for what should be an exciting finale of the Premier League season.
After two months of sporadic action While the Six Nations was being played out, domestic duties returned and leading runners and riders battled to gain an edge and a chance of the top prize at Twickenham in June.
However, if this was any indication of what was to come, there should be some improvement over the next few weeks.
It was an encouraging start though, with Newcastle Falcons winger Ben Stevenson streaking over the whitewash two minutes later to secure his The team got off to a great start, but what followed — especially during the tense second half — will certainly require serious attention to detail.
< p>The Falcons, languishing at the bottom of the table and without a win all season, were competitive up to a point. But the hosts never had to crack the whip at any stage of the match.
The bonus point should have been the launch pad for a further push in the second half. Instead it turned into a grueling arm-wrestle in which penalties (27 in total) meant the contest became a stop-and-go affair with little value to the paying public.
Match details
Exeter Chiefs :J. Hodge; D John, Z Wimbush, J Hawkins (W Rigg 67), O Woodburn; H. Skinner, W. Becconsall (S. Townsend 60); S. Sio (D. Southworth 67), J. Yeandle (c, D. Frost 67), J. Josepha-Scott (22 M. Street); R. Tuima (J. Dunn 75), L. Pearson; J. Vermeulen, R. Capstick, J. Fisilau (R. Vincent 60). Subs: W. Haydon-Wood
Newcastle Falcons: E. Obatoyinbo, A. Radwan, T. Penney, R. Jennings, B. Stevenson (M. Moroney 43, Blamire 76 ); B. Connon, S. Stewart (B. Douglas, 78); A. Brocklebank (P. Brantingham 45), J. Blamire (B. Byrne 70), E. Bello (R. Palframan 43); P van der Walt (J Kelly 70), S de Chaves; F Lockwood (S Cross 11-23, 63), G Pepper, C Chick (c).
Yellow card: Pepper, Byrne
Referee: > Jack Makepeace
Attendance: 11,940
Scoring sequence: Stevenson Tree (0-5), Connon Cohn (0-7), Fisilau Tri (5-7), Connon Pen (5-10 ), Wimbush Tree (10-10), Sio Tree (15-10), Connon Pen (15-13), Tuima Tree (20-13), Hodge Cohn (22-13), Connon Pen (22-16), Hodge Pen (25-16)
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