1
'His pace is outstanding... he brought that energy when we most needed it'
By PA
Exeter Chiefs head coach Ali Hepher praised the impact of Scotland captain Stuart Hogg on his return from Six Nations duty as he helped inspire a fine fightback over Bath and secure a 42-22 victory at Sandy Park.
The Chiefs trailed bottom side Bath 22-7 just before the break, but two converted tries turned the match on its head, and Exeter dominated the second period, scoring four more touchdowns to seal an ultimately comfortable victory.
Hogg played a key part in two of the Chiefs’ tries and scored one himself near the end, and Hepher said: “His pace is outstanding and he got an opportunity to kick his goals as well.
“His energy and speed is right up there and he brought that energy when we most needed it.”
Looking back on the disappointing first 35 minutes, Hepher added: “To come through that is quite pleasing, but what we have got to make sure is we do not put ourselves in that position in the first place.
“When we started to keep the ball in the second half, we started to score tries, but we were in a tough game for long periods.
“We needed to find some energy, and attack the game without the ball as well as with the ball, and we started to make breaks and give ourselves opportunities but we didn’t take them and that builds pressure. It was important to just get our heads right in a positive sense and start playing rugby.”
With Sale and Gloucester losing this weekend, it has been a good weekend for Exeter, but Hepher said: “You can’t control any of that and our focus is with ourselves, though results elsewhere are going to be important as it is a little bit out of our hands.”
Bath head coach Neal Hatley said: “We had good control for 35 minutes, and we showed really good attacking intent, but in that five minutes before half-time we lost control.
“We massively let Exeter back in, especially with the second try, and I am disappointed with what looks like a blow-out at the end by us, and I don’t think the game was really like that.
“We did some good things as a team, but we made some individual errors that we need to tidy up on and we have got to do better.”
Wingers Will Muir and Joe Cokanasiga caused Exeter lots of problems in the first half, and Hatley added: “We are blessed with some very good wingers at the club, and Will came in for Semesa Rokoduguni and I thought he was outstanding.
“Benny Spencer kicked well and put pressure on with his kicks, Sam Underhill was absolutely sensational and Will Stuart carried and scrummaged well.
“There are lots of positives from the game but we can’t keep saying we are heading in the right direction or things are getting better. We need to win games.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Stuart Hogg addresses rumours of rugby return
3
Nigel Owens has final say on URC's most controversial game
4
OTD – Declan Kidney takes step up into Test rugby
5
Latest Comments
Hi Nick. Thanks for your +++ ongoing analysis. Re Vunivalu, He’s been benched recently and it will be interesting to see what Kiss does with him as we enter the backend of SRP. I’m still not sold.
Go to commentsIn the fine tradition of Irish rugby, Leinster cheat well and for some reason only known to whoever referees them, they are allowed to get away with it every single game. If teams have not got the physicality up front to stop them getting the ball, they will win every single game. They take out players beyond the ruck and often hold them on the ground. Those that are beyond the ruck and therefore offside, hover there to cause distraction but also to join the next ruck from the side thereby stopping the jackal. The lineout prior to the second try on Saturday. 3 Leinster players left the lineout before the ball was thrown and were driving the maul as soon as the player hit the ground and thereby getting that valuable momentum. They scrummage illegally, with the looshead turning in to stop the opposing tighthead from pushing straight and making it uncomfortable for the hooker. The tighthead takes a step and tries to get his opposite loosehead to drop the bind. Flankers often ‘move up’ and actually bind on the prop and not remain bound to the second row. It does cause chaos and is done quickly and efficiently so that referees are blinded by the illegal tactics. I am surprised opposition coaches when they meet referees before games don’t mention it. I am also surprised that they do not go to the referees group and ask them to look at the tactics used and referee them properly. If they are the better team and win, fair play but a lot of their momentum is gained illegally and therefore it is not a level playing field.
Go to comments