Exeter urged to stay hungry for the title

Head coach Ali Hepher insisted Exeter must not take their foot off the pedal as they chase the title after overwhelming Northampton with 54 points in 48 minutes.

The result was all the more incredible as a Northampton win would have put them top of the table. But tries from Jonny Hill, Elvis Taione, Jannes Kirsten, Tom

Hendrickson (2), Ben Moon, Tom O’flaherty and Sam Simmonds, along with a penalty and five conversions from fly-half Joe Simmonds and two conversions by his replacement Gareth Steenson, sent the Saints crashing.

Northampton’s only consolation was they were not whitewashed, as fly-half James Grayson scored a second-half try that he converted.

It puts Exeter eight points clear of second-placed Sale Sharks, and the journey continues this week with a trip to Harlequins, who lost to Bath on Saturday.

Hepher said: “That is a massive game. There is another four or five points up for grabs and we have to have an appetite to go after them.

“That is the secret for us going forward. We have to make sure we stay hungry.”

Hepher explained: “We don’t want to take our foot off the pedal. There is plenty to improve on.”

Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd was philosophical after the hammering, saying: “I just said to someone after the game that 57, 27, 37 does not bother me. We chased the game at the end and coughed up some soft tries.

“We got to 34 minutes and it was 8-0 and the plan was to try and get through the first 40 minutes with minimal damage and see if we could bring some fresh guys on at half-time, which was a pre-planned move,” Boyd added.