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'Don’t tell my wife!' – Slade’s cheeky take on Exeter’s big win

By PA
EXETER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 29: Exeter Chiefs' Henry Slade during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester Rugby at Sandy Park on December 29, 2024 in Exeter, England. (Photo by Bob Bradford - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Henry Slade described Exeter’s first Gallagher Premiership victory of the season as “better than sex” after the Chiefs beat west-country rivals Gloucester 22-15 at Sandy Park.

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Exeter had not won a Premiership game since May, losing eight on the bounce this term.

But prop Josh Iosefa-Scott’s 74th-minute try saw the Chiefs home as they climbed off the basement above Newcastle.

Asked for his verdict on the result, England international and Exeter fly-half Slade told TNT Sports: “Better than sex. Don’t tell my wife that!

“It was awesome. Confidence has been low. Naturally, when you lose games on the bounce, you do lose confidence.

“But the boys have been scrapping and fighting. There has been a lot of heartache, and to come out on the right side today makes it all the better because it has taken so long.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins
4
Draws
0
Wins
1
Average Points scored
26
22
First try wins
100%
Home team wins
80%

Exeter led at the break following touchdowns for hooker Dan Frost and centre Tamati Tua, with Slade converting both scores, as Gloucester were reduced to a solitary Santi Carreras penalty.

But tries in quick succession after the interval for fly-half Gareth Anscombe and replacement prop Jamal Ford-Robinson, one converted by Carreras, put them ahead.

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Carreras, though, also missed a conversion and penalty, and Exeter closed the game out via a Slade penalty and Iosefa-Scott’s try.

Reflecting on Exeter’s losing run, Chiefs rugby director Rob Baxter said: “I have obviously felt the pressure because I want the team to win, the players to feel success here, we want to bring supporters through the gate.

“But to be fair, Tony (club chairman Tony Rowe) and the board have been very supportive.

“I have never had a conversation of ‘win next week, or it’s all over’ or ‘this has got to change’. But at the same time, they have expected us to to turn it around over a period.

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“Gloucester are not a team short on confidence at the moment – they have had some good results against good sides – and fair play to our lads, they have stuck in there and stuck to most of what we tried to put in place.

“We perhaps could have had more control in the game, but ultimately we found a way of fighting our way through it.”

It was a poor day at the office for Gloucester as their push to feature in the play-off places stalled ahead of hosting Sale Sharks next Saturday.

“We were massively inaccurate in the first half. Our lineout faltered, our handling faltered, we dropped the ball,” Gloucester rugby director George Skivington said.

“I thought the second half we were a little bit better in what was a scrappy game. Fair play to Exeter, they made it scrappy. The first-half was definitely our worst first half of the season in the Premiership.

“I think if you are a little bit off your game, you get stung. From our point of view, I am frustrated with the inaccuracy. We pride ourselves on accurate rugby, and it wasn’t there today.

“It was about as bad a start as you could get down here. We drop the kick-off, miss a lineout and they are never going to score an easier try than what they got given.”

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J
JW 1 hour ago
How key Waratahs playmakers could reshape Joe Schmidt's Wallabies backline

Yeah like a classic comedy show, not too different to how he went at the same venue last year? Perhaps there’s something about that latitude that puts his equilibrium off?


The rush on Jo was fine though, you’d catch most players out with Dmacs ex3cution of it. There were actually quite a few instances like that, not too dissimilar to that Bledisloe game actually, were things just didn’t work out for no luck of trying to skill. I laughed when Dmac took himself out of that try and basically gifted it to them by trying to bowl over Kellaway was perhaps the most comical.


Actually now you say that, yes, very reminiscent of Aus v England wasn’t it. The two changes at halves have been instrumental for me. Not that the first two weren’t playing well, but these two seem to pair up better, with everyone. Like you say with those sorts of counter attack plays, they are on instinct and that stuff needs to be shared with everyone. That’s another thing too I was thinking, in that respect guys returning can be a hinderance to a team playing well, but I might have just thought that because I wasn’t sure (hadn’t seen much) which of NSWs midfields were best suited where.


I’m very similar in my TMO preference as well. I had actually said to myself several times already this season (SR here) that they are pretty bullish basically telling the ref what theyve seen as fact. If I remember rightly it even happened a few times in November and some of the refs then said “no, I’m actually happy with that.” etc. But very tough on Maybe (I think) who probably has plss poor vision on the big screen to say anything otherwise, so yes, definitely just make it an offer to look and also communicate ‘why’ precisely to the ref, and (just like he does to the players) he can even say to the TMO “no I was happy how I saw it live, I don’t need a replay thanks” etc. He started like that I think, “I’d like to review a simultaneous grounding” but then yes, he took over after. Of course in the refs minds, it’s the right call, thoughts how it’s always been ref’d, even when theres a good few frames in the slowmo that actually show ball obviously hitting grass first (which they didn’t in this game), they’ve always ruled that (like in cricket) if the ball continues to then be ground on the line after (or in the same frame in this example) they always gone ‘dead ball’. The new SR committee apparently what to making the line the attacking teams so they award the try’s instead of taking them away, but just like I said with them not wanting to look closely at the first forward pass (like they did for the Chiefs try), I don’t want random JRLO level decisions, and giving the line to the attacking team is just going to make clear no trys, a try instead. It’s exactly the same result.

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