Exeter start a new life as the hunted, not the hunters
Chiefs are no longer a club punching above their weight but the champions with a target on their backs
So, now Exeter know the level they will have to play at every week if they want to defend their crown, how hard, how intense, how consistent they will have to be. It is a different game when you are champions, as Leicester City found out in the Premier League last season.
You are no longer “everyone’s favourite second team”, the “little club punching above their weight”. Now you are the team to beat. You are a prized scalp.
What a humdinger of a season’s opener it was at Kingsholm on Friday night, though. If every game is like that, we are in for a treat. But while it was a first defeat in 18 matches for Exeter, I do not think it should concern them unduly.
The Chiefs did not play badly. They did what they always do well. They went through their phases, they showed patience, they had good intensity and discipline – I do not think they conceded a penalty for more than 30 minutes – they dominated the territory stats in both halves, scoring three tries away from home. They got a losing bonus point and looked the more likely team to win, certainly after recovering to 21-21.
Yes, it was a first defeat since last October, but it was not disastrous by any means. It was game one, away from home, at Kingsholm, under the lights. Rob Baxter will be frustrated because his team controlled the game for three-quarters of it. But he will have learned important lessons.
The big takeaway for me, from a coaching perspective, was how do you play a team who do not compete at the breakdown and instead line up 14 men behind the ball and then take you on with good line speed? Those were the tactics Gloucester deployed, and they deployed them brilliantly.
While Exeter scrapped and competed at the breakdown – Matt Kvesic had a fine opening half on his Chiefs debut – Gloucester did not compete at all. They kept 14 players on their feet and lined up early across the field, ready for that multi-phase attack which Exeter bring. By not over-committing, they had players ready for each phase. And they deserved the win in the end because their work rate and their line speed were so good. The line speed of both teams was exceptional – already we are seeing a legacy of the Lions.
This tactical trend – of not over-committing to the breakdown, and then using a 14-man defence with good line speed – is an area coaches are really focusing on. So how do you counter it? One potential solution is to attack the space immediately behind the breakdown, a clear-andcarry through the contact area.
Alternatively, you produce runners inside 10 or 12 who get at the opposition’s defensive line quickly. So you stop that linespeed. Then you have another quick, short carry, and then attack. Because your opponents will have less time to regroup, you challenge them to realign quickly.
Whatever the route they go down, Exeter will have to keep evolving as teams find different ways of trying to stop them. And they will. I have a huge amount of time for Baxter and Ali Hepher, who I coached at Northampton in the late 1990s. People forget what a good player Hepher was. He was called up by Sir Clive Woodward for England.
They will not be panicking. Rob is a very level-headed guy. Ultimately, he will know his team had control of possession and territory. And he can point to some real positives. Sam Simmonds’ speed and athleticism at No8 was obviously a highlight. His two tries – particularly the first – showed Exeter’s ability to mix it up between forwards and backs to devastating effect.
Kvesic had a fine opening half-hour, as I said. Not just his jackalling over the ball, but some very good carries as well. He will be a good addition to the squad and might just sneak back into the England reckoning if he has a good season. Eddie Jones is not blessed with natural out-and-out No7s.
Olly Woodburn was another plus. He sums up Exeter for me: honest, not overly flashy, just works incredibly hard in every area, carries, tackles, the whole lot. He scored a great try as well to get Exeter back to 21-21. Then Henry Slade missed that penalty and Gloucester went up the other end and scored. Fine margins.
Gloucester fans should be excited. If their team plays like that every week they are going to be top-six contenders. Their workrate was outstanding. They were defending double-figure phases and showing good discipline, which was one of their major failings last season. And they were committed to attacking from their own half, perhaps too committed at times. You could already see, though, the effect new head coach Johan Ackermann is having.
I still think Exeter will be there or thereabouts, though. This was a minor setback, but it may prove a blessing. They know now the level they are going to have to play at every week now that they have a target on their backs.
Can they defend their title? It may be that they have to focus on the Premiership if they are to have a shot. If all their major players stay injury-free, then I think they probably have just about enough to mix it up and fight in both Europe and domestically. But there is not a huge margin for error. I know Baxter has said he wants to do well in Europe. But personally I think consistency in the Premiership is the most important thing for the Chiefs, consolidating what they did last year. I think getting to the knockout stages in Europe would constitute success.
They will not panic but will have to evolve as teams find ways of trying to stop them