Chiefs must find new way forward
Saracens’ Premiership final win shows Exeter need more strings to a one-dimensional game
If it was not the final Exeter fans wanted, it was the final the rest of us needed. That will not please the Chiefs, but we saw from the outset what would have happened had Saracens only been able to shore up their defence and not offer a potent attacking threat.
As against Newcastle in the semi-final, Exeter had sole control of the ball during that period. Their accuracy at the breakdown was superb and they hammered at the Saracens defence.
Normally it is enough; sides cannot cope with this endless onslaught. The problem for the West Country team was that while Sarries bent in defence, they did not break. That being so, their line remained intact despite remorseless pressure, and this left Chiefs kicking goals and scoring in threes.
And so the game would have continued had it not been for the X factor of the brothers Vunipola and welcome cameos from Chris Wyles and Alex Goode.
Not only have Exeter almost perfected the art of recycling the ball while in attack, they have become very adept at maintaining their defensive structure, and teams who do not have inventiveness and creativity face not only being shut out when they attack, but are doomed to spend an eternity facing phase after phase when they turn the ball over.
That is what Saracens, more than any other Premiership team, can do when they are on form. Two plays later and you are two tries down and chasing the game. Not that the Chiefs felt the pressure from the early scores, they just kept on reverting to their systems and keeping whatever ball they got.
Again, normally this is enough. They wear sides down and eventually triumph. Not this time. This time, they met equally obdurate resistance and it was at this point you saw the limitations in what Exeter use as plans A, B and C.
You cannot blame Rob Baxter and his team for trying to carry on doing what has brought them success; it has worked so well in the past and is technically very difficult to master. Moreover, there are few opponents who can resist even when they know what is coming. However, the natural borders of this tactical approach have now been reached and it is time to reflect on what happens next.
That is not an easy option for Baxter. His loyalty to players has enabled him to wring every drop of talent out of his squad. The next steps are to expand the tactical approach and to augment their playing squad, steps that the club will be reluctant to take.
Exeter need an offensive kicking game. It was almost entirely ball in hand, apart from kicks exiting their 22, and this limits them to attritional exchanges that gain at most a few metres at a time. It does not allow Exeter’s playmakers to pull the opposition back three about, and nor does it make ground quickly. Ceding possession from kicking must be anathema to Baxter and Exeter’s whole raison d’etre, but it is necessary.
While Exeter’s multi-phase game asks so many questions of defenders, they are mainly one-dimensional tests. An effective kicking strategy widens the threat and pulls the back three into positions where they are uncomfortable and exposed, even if they catch the ball properly in the first phase. At the moment, Exeter are stuck in the rugby equivalent of football’s possession going sideways.
And what do you make of a club who lost seven games in a row earlier in the season and rebounded to produce such compelling performances in both the semi-final and final rounds of the Premiership?
The returning Billy Vunipola has obviously made a huge impression for Saracens, but if you look at the performances that underpinned the more obvious ones, you see that figures such as Brad Barritt, Jackson Wray and Richard Wigglesworth again contributed without fanfare.
In his post-match interview, Vunipola stressed the values of the club and while this sort of claim can be criticised for lack of definition, if you simply substitute club spirit for values you are nearer the mark. The fact that such a number of current and past internationals are willing to subordinate their egos to the team cause is the secret of Saracens’ success.
From that base you can – and Sarries did – bring through youth and accommodate the odd marquee signing.
To end the season on the highest of notes should help the England players in South Africa. Their form has suffered this year and they need to be at their peak to make the tour a success.
And last but not least, farewell to Schalk Brits. A hooker who redefined the word mobile and who in the modern era actually struck a ball against the head; I saw it with my own eyes and repeat what I said: “Bloody marvellous.”