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Exeter Chiefs player ratings vs Toulouse | Investec Champions Cup
By Ian Cameron
Exeter Chiefs player ratings: Exeter endured a torrid evening at Sandy Park, as Toulouse delivered a 10-try masterclass to seal a thumping 64-21 win. It was a brutal lesson for Exeter Chiefs as Toulouse showed why they’re among Europe’s elite. While Tom Wyatt and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso gave the home crowd something to cheer about, the result spoke to the current gulf in class between the sides.
Despite the grisly scoreline, there were a few bright sparks for the Chiefs amid the carnage.
Here’s how the players rated:
15. Josh Hodge - 7.5
Busy and inventive, Hodge constantly probed Toulouse’s defence and showed sharp instincts to score a clever try. Admittedly, it might not have survived a more forensic TMO review, but hey, they all count.
14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso - 8.5
Targeted relentlessly by Toulouse, but the young winger thrived under pressure. Broke tackles for fun and delivered a couple of sublime offloads. Another Lions stock boost despite his team's floundering.
13. Ben Hammersley - 5
A quiet outing before being hooked at halftime. Struggled to impose himself against a rampant Toulouse midfield.
12. Tamati Tua - 5
Patchy in defence and offered little going forward. Another victim of Toulouse’s merciless attack.
11. Tom Wyatt - 8.5
The standout player for Exeter, Wyatt scored two tries, beat five defenders, and racked up over 100 metres. Toulouse defenders must’ve been sick of the sight of him by full-time.
10. Henry Slade - 6
A mixed bag from the experienced playmaker. His kicking game kept Exeter ticking at times but he couldn’t influence the match as much as he’d have liked.
9. Stu Townsend - 6.5
Yellow-carded for offside, though it felt more like the team was being punished rather than Townsend himself. Still, he battled well and added tempo when Exeter found rare pockets of momentum.
1. Will Goodrick-Clarke - 5
The former England loosehead held his own against Dorian Aldegheri but they were both taken off at half-time.
2. Dan Frost - 6.5
Showed glimpses of his attacking flair with a lovely break and perfectly timed pass to set up Wyatt’s try. A few quieter moments elsewhere but his involvement in that score was a personal highlight.
3. Ehren Painter - 6
Battled hard in the scrum against a dominant Toulouse pack and had some decent moments in the loose. While far from perfect, the 150kg prop was solid shift in a thankless role.
4. Rus Tuima - 5
Worked hard but couldn’t make much of an impact against Toulouse’s ruthless pack. Fell off too many tackles. A learning curve for the rookie forward.
5. Richard Capstick - 5
Battled valiantly in defence but found himself overrun by wave after wave of Toulouse attacks.
6. Ethan Roots - 5
Industrious but ultimately outgunned. Struggled to keep up with the pace and precision of the Toulouse forwards and missed a few tackles.
7. Jacques Vermeulen - 4
Tried to lay down a marker with physicality but overstepped the mark, conceding three penalties and narrowly avoiding a card for a reckless high shot. A frustrating evening.
8. Ross Vintcent - 7
Confrontational and combative, Vintcent topped the tackle charts and added some much-needed grit. A brain-fade penalty for chasing down Merkler and shoving him wasn’t his finest moment, however.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Jack Yeandle - 5
Struggled to provide the desired impact off the bench.
17. Kwenzo Blose - 5
Didn’t manage to stem the tide in the scrum after coming on.
18. Jimmy Roots - 5
Another who found Toulouse’s pack too hot to handle.
19. Dafydd Jenkins - 6
Added some energy and physicality in the second half, though the game was already well beyond reach.
20. Greg Fisilau - 7
Brought solid impact from the bench, carrying hard and coming inches from scoring a try. One of the few forwards to consistently get over the gainline.
21. Will Becconsall - NA
22. Will Haydon-Wood - 6
Did what he could in a challenging environment.
23. Zack Wimbush - 5
The giant back had limited chances to make an impression.
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Latest Comments
This competition has not helped SA whatsoever in World Cups. Have they forgotten the Springboks won in 2019, back when they were still in Super Rugby? Not to mention the enormous gap between club and country. International regimes always go on about how the first thing they teach you is to forget everything your club taught you.
Also, no one is forcing them to simultaneously compete in two tournaments. It's a European competition, they shouldn't have to roll over just because South Africa find the current schedule problematic. The franchises seem to be coming to the realisation they have no political sway within Europe. During the Super days, they were able to demand things like additional franchises in exchange for allowing the Jaguares and Sunwolves into the competition.
Go to commentsMate, you can't be serious. The Crusaders under Razor lost to a decently strong BIL side 9-3 back in 2017. A match in which both sides had such strong defence and high discipline, not a single try was scored, and almost no penalties were conceded.
You can't take a club or franchise's scores at face value, as internationals, coaching personnel etc all have a massive impact on how well a team performs. Let's not forget The Crusaders had a horrible season this year under Penney, after 7 consecutive years as champions under Robertson, and that was despite an injury crisis for the last two in which they were scraping the bottom of the barrel in some positions.
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