Exeter Chiefs v Saracens Report

I feel we Saracens fans approached this game with mixed emotions. The squad announcement on Friday highlighted the team’s current struggles, with Nick Tompkins on the bench and Max Eke making his first Saracens XV start at blindside. A combination of injuries and England international call-ups had left the team stretched thin. Exeter, on the other hand, capitalized on Saracens’ errors and displayed clinical execution throughout the match. Some of these errors were excusable, others less so.I did not attend this match due to a prior commitment however I sat down in front of TNT Sport with a mixture of excitement as to what the next 80 could bring (if we turned up!) and trepidation if things didn’t quite go to plan.

First Half

The first 5 couldn’t really have been much better, Lozowski notching a penalty to make the score 0-3 on 5 minutes. However things took a turn for the worse almost immediately with Juan Martin-Gonzalez being yellow carded for a dangerous tip tackle. He was perhaps fortunate to escape with just a yellow card, as referees take tip tackles very seriously these days.
In typical Exeter style, they kicked to the corner and, guess who, Jack Innard rumbled over from the resulting catch and drive. Will Haydon Wood missed the conversion but Exeter had the lead. The next 15 minutes saw a mix of phase play and box kicks, with Tobias Elliott delivering a massive hit on Joe Hawkins. Elliott’s recent performances have been outstanding.

On 25 minutes, Sarries were in for their first try. With the backs finding an edge and the ball passed out to Tobias Elliott, he was able to scorch around the outside and race into the corner. Impressive finishing, unfortunately Lozowski’s conversion attempt drifted to the left and it was 8-5 to Sarries. Sarries thought they had a second not long after, but it was disallowed after a TMO review due to a knockon from Brandon Jackson in the air.
Unfortunately Kapeli Pifeleti suffered an injury on 34 minutes and had to go off for an HIA, failing it meant that James Hadfield who was just returning from injury was now a permanent replacement. Sarries did manage to apply some pressure late into the half but Exeter defended well and were eventually able to kick the ball dead to end the half 8-5 down.

Second Half

The second half started with a string of substitutions. Veteran Fraser Balmain was replaced by Alec Clarey, while Eroni Mawi substituted for Phil Brantingham. Sarries managed to apply some pressure thanks to an acrobatic catch from Brandon Jackson stopping the ball from going out into touch from an Exeter penalty. Fine work indeed. However, we gave possession away and Exeter could rebuild their attack. A high tackle on Ben Hammersley allowed Exeter to kick downfield and enter the Sarries 22. Eroni Mawi was deemed to have illegally come in at the side and Exeter had a lineout 5m out. They made hard work of it, nearly getting turned over but stretched the Saracens defence so much so that they couldn’t cover when the ball was spun to Will Rigg who could dot down. 10-8 now to Exeter with replacement FH Harvey Skinner hitting the posts from what looked a fairly easy conversion. Almost immediately after the restart, Saracens attacked Exeter's 22 and a clever crossfield kick from Lozowski put pressure on Ben Hammersley. He knocked the ball backwards and it found Tobias Elliott who could race to the line to score. Lozowski missed the kick but 15-10 looked more respectable.
From the next kick off, it was Saracens who were caught out. Exeter lost the ball backwards from the kick off but they managed to regather and the ball found Paul Brown-Bampoe who has been tearing it up recently. He raced down the touchline and just (I mean JUST!, a few mm sort of just) avoided the touchline and offloaded inside to Tommy Wyatt who raced clear. Conversion meant the score was 17-15. The Chiefs struck again almost immediately. A clever Stu Townsend box kick from the halfway line totally wrong footed Fergus Burke and Ethan Roots was able to gather the bouncing ball and offoad to Dan Frost. He raced away from a despairing Liam Williams (who, to his credit, made a stunning tap tackle) however there was Exeter support and Roots regathered the ball from his teammate to dot down. Skinner dissected the uprights and the score was now 24-15. Ouch.

Things only got worse for Saracens. Harry Wilson was red carded for a high shot on Chiefs Rusi Tuima. At first, it looked like a big, strong hit however on TMO replay, it was shown to be a high shot with no arm-wrap attempt or mitigation. That was only going to result in 1 thing – a red card. A huge loss not only for the 20 minutes Harry Wilson was off, but also for the next few premiership cup games. I imagine he will be cited. Exeter kicked to the corner from this and Dan Frost rumbled over from the maul, a little too easily it must be said. 31-15 up and with only 8 minutes left, it would’ve been easy for Sarries to have crumbled and let in more tries, however to their credit, they held firm and in 76 minutes, Sarries had a promising looking attack ended due to a Tizard knock on. On 78 minutes, Sarries won a string of penalties in the Exeter 22 and Eroni Mawi burrowed over from short range on 80:02. Lozowski added the conversion but it was to no avail as we had 3 tries, not 4. 31-22 to the Chiefs and 5 match points to them with nothing for us.

Key Players

Phil Brantingham – Phil Brantingham – once again, he impressed at scrum time and made significant metres with his carries.

Tommy Wyatt – solid under the high ball, good kicking and very impressive attacking play. A fully deserved MoTM award and I look forward to seeing more of what Wyatt can do in the future. He looks quite a player.

Juan Martin Gonzalez – despite his daft yellow, JMG has really put in a shift every game he’s played and today was no different. I feel he is sometimes a little underrated especially in his attacking ability and awareness around the field. A wonderful player to have in our squad.

Paul Brown-Bampoe – an outstanding performance that showcased his pace and agility. Perhaps a little unlucky not to get the MotM (speaks volumes about how good Wyatt was), his searing pace and electric feet were on show all afternoon. He also made a crucial turnover and seems solid in defence. Too often wingers are superb in attack but lack defensive skills, but this isn’t the case with PB-B. He does look to be the real deal and could go far.

Special mentions also to Nathan Michelow and Max Eke – 2 very young players who gave it their all and shone. All the players should be proud of a good effort with the circumstances.

Conclusion

While a victory may not have been expected, the final result does not reflect the true nature of the game. I thought we were much better than the score shows and were unlucky not to take 1 or 2 bonus points. All credit to Exeter, they capitalised on their chances well.
Our lineout and scrum were impressive despite all the players missing and it was good to see Louis Johnson starting. I’m sure, with time, he will demonstrate just how good he is.

All that’s left to say is enjoy the Six Nations everyone and take care 😊