CHIEFS AMBUSH LACKLUSTRE SAINTS
By Tom Carmichael
February 3 2013
An unenviable task tor Tom this week, having made a round trip and frozen his bits off, having to watch what was, by popular consent one of the worst performnces of recent times.
LV=Cup Pool stage round 4
Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints. Sandy Park Saturday 2nd February 2013
KO 18:30
Chiefs win 28-19
Exeter Chiefs have come a long way in a short period of time. They have established a team to challenge (and beat!!) the big boys, a well designed ground and a marketable identity off the field.
Their depiction of Red Indian life went out of fashion when John Wayne was still in leather boots, but the concept of Native Americanism has not reached this Devonian outpost. I feel more than a little uneasy about Big Chief, Wigwam Bars and Tomahawk Chop chants but, I have to admit, I was in a minority of one at Sandy Park last night and the locals lapped it up. Partisan though they are, the occasional unpleasantness of the Crumbie and the Shed and the arrogant middle classness of South West London have not reached here. They took defeat well a month ago. I travelled wondering how they would take defeat this time! Then news that Bath had won with a bonus point made me fearful of how we would put together a performance to gain our own bonus point. I certainly hadn’t bargained for the most dreadful first half performance from the Saints. It was like the Battle of Little Bighorn with Ben Foden as Custer.
It’s easy to pour out the clichés; Exeter wanted it more, the Saints were still on the bus, we weren’t up for it, we weren’t accurate enough, we fell off tackles. But this doesn’t explain it. I’m not sure that it helps to recount too much detail. Certainly Exeter were far superior for half an hour and , in that half an hour , the game was won and lost by 22 points to nil. Exeter’s new Fijian winger, Votu, was enormously powerful and was an absolute menace. Our tackling let us down and Exeter could have scored more. With no platform up front, we had little ball. The scrum wasn’t allowed to function. J.P. Doyle had been booed off on his last appearance at Sandy Park and now he was being assessed by Ed Morrison. Mr Morrison has ordered a longer pause at the scrum before the set, even though the laws don’t appear to allow for this. Result …both packs pinged for early engagement.
Apparently the radio commentary was highly critical of Ryan Lamb; pretty unfair, he was no worse than anyone else. There was a lack of chase on the kicks, poor handling and some wrong options. Two moments summed it up. We won a lineout on Exeter’s ball just outside our 22. A tapped ball was quickly transferred to Lamb who passed on to Luther Burrell. An enormous kick went out on half way and the touch judge trotted back for a line out well inside our 22! Then a Burrell break (the only Saints’ break of the half) and Wilson carried it on, no support, penalty for holding on.
I’d shelled out 45 spondoolies for the Main Stand to get a decent view for this report. (any chance of a refund Mr Robson?); not a Saints’ fan in site. A half time walk found one on the far terrace. We were agreed that the Saints had been worse than useless. Apparently 15 more had come on the coach. Not really enough to counter the vocal chanting of the natives. Who can blame people for not travelled to watch this.
After 9 second half minutes, the cavalry arrived. In the westerns they are usually in time. Certainly they made a huge difference. A few minutes to settle and our forwards started to take over. A yellow card, try Dickson. Game on but a couple of Exeter attacks led to dubious penalties. Exeter seemed to have forgotten that they too needed a bonus point and kicked the goals. Exeter we now infringing at every opportunity. Another yellow card, another Dickson try. There should have been more yellows. But all too late.
200 mile drive home.
The only good news; Gloucester were worse than us and we play them in the league next week. I remain ever hopeful, but beware the wounded animal.
Some honesty from James Wilson
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For barving the distance but then you always do but more to endure the performance and then write about it with out swearing!
Some of the photos I have seen in the pre match warm up look as if Jim is worried and the players may not have been there.
I wonder if they knew they had to score 4 tries and did not believe in them selves?
Had we just needed a win they may have had a different mind set?
No alcohol for January. I'm a dryathlete in aid of cancer research.
Dryathlon
Much appreciated, fella!
David L
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
- Live wrong and preposterously
How very adhesive of you!
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I'm doing the report for Glaws next week...
But being serious, its all about numbers again, if you've got 12 and 14 teams in a league you can afford to have national talent spread more thinly across those teams and so bring in the odd outsider. In Wales there's not that luxury. So again pretty daft comparing like with like over a single result.