Exeter left frustrated by yet another late call-off
Simmonds’ delay proves costly for Chiefs
EXETER City boss Matt Taylor felt the right decision was made as the Grecians’ fixture at home to Grimsby Town was called off 90 minutes before kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch, writes Danierl Clark.
The consistent torrential rain, heavy than expected, in the previous 24 hours, which was set to continue through the afternoon, meant the surface was been deemed unplayable by both managers and the referee.
Taylor, when we arrived at St James Park at 9.30am saw that the pitch wasn’t in a great state with standing water, and despite attempts to get the game on, it was considered unrealistic that the pitch would survive any more rain and was in an unplayable state.
“I think it’s the right decision,” Taylor said, when asked about the postponement. “It’s not the decision any of us wanted today but probably judging on the rainfall in the last 24 hours and what is to come in the next few hours, it was only going to get worse.
“There is standing water on the pitch and has been all morning and the ground staff are fighting a task they cannot get over through no fault of their own but due to the rainfall, so we move on and look to Tuesday night.
“We were here at 9.30am and the pitch wasn’t in great condition then. We wanted to give it time but only got worse and will get worse still, so we have to think about the bigger picture and the damage to the pitch if we played today, we may not have been able to rescue it for the rest of the season.
“You never want home games to be called off but we have tried to be as open as we can with Grimsby and both managers and the referee in the end all felt it was the right decision.”
It is the first City home game of the season to bite the dust, although twice at Barrow, and away games at Newport, Harrogate and OIdham have all be called off due to the weather for the Grecians this season.
Taylor added: “We will shoot across to the training ground now one of the benefits we have of the 3G at the training ground - and we will do a bit of work there, and after the efforts the lads put in on Tuesday night, slightly lesser session in terms of time, not effort, and then travel for a game to Colchester on Tuesday.”
Head Groundsman Chaz Woolnough added: “It’s disappointing for us as it’s the first game we’ve lost to weather this season, and we only just lost it.
“I just gave the referee the facts and said what we’d worked on and then it was up the referee to make the decision based on what they saw. The referee looked at 9 and then at 11 so it wasn’t an open and shut case.”
A new date for this fixture will be confirmed in due course, with Tuesday, March 30, the next free midweek when the game could be played, one of only three available dates before the end of the season when it could be played due to rearranged fixtures both City and the Mariners have.
City now have back-to-back away games in the next seven days, with Colchester United on Tuesday and then Crawley Town on Saturday.
EXETER Chiefs’ 12-13 defeat to Northampton Saints ended in chaos and controversy as flyhalf Joe Simmonds never got the chance to take the kick needed to win the match.
Having failed to convert their opportunities for most of the match Exeter had a chance to snatch the victory at the final whistle after Sam Skinner scored a try in the corner to make it a one point game.
The conversion, into the strong gusting wind at Sandy Park, would win it.
Due to the power of the wind Simmonds, who came off the replacements bench with 15 minutes remaining having suffered a head knock last weekend which ruled him out of training for much of the week, placed the ball on the 22m line, three metres in from the touchline, giving himself a tight angle at the best of times.
With the gravity of the kick clearly weighing upon him and the clock in the red, the young fly-half took one extra adjustment before looking down at the ball an extra time which triggered the race off the line by the Saints defence led by winger Ollie Sleightholme.
Startled at the onrushing wall of white, Simmonds hesitated just long enough for Sleightholme to kick the ball off the tee to bring about the final whistle from referee Christophe Ridley.
Immediately afterwards Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said he had no complaints with the incident.
He said: “As far as I can tell I think Joe Simmonds moved, they charged and that is what you are allowed to do.
“As far as I know that is what happened and I have got no other comment. We got it wrong.
“I haven’t seen the footage but I have been told he moved so the referee has made the right decision.”
Baxter was more annoyed about the fact his side had scored from just one of their many previous visits into the Northampton 22, with hooker Jack Yeandle torpedoing over before the break from a 5m tap penalty.
That was after Northampton number eight Shaun Adendorff had touched down from a maul completely against the run of play after 10 minutes.
Eight points off the boot of Piers Francais ensured Saints returned home with their first win at Sandy Park since a 17-16 victory back in February 2014.
“We’ve not taken our opportunities, which is a little bit uncharacteristic of us, and you have to give Northampton massive credit for how they fought on their try-line,” Baxter added.
“We weren’t bang on. There are a few things we can look at. It was a tough game of rugby, Northampton played their part in it, and we have come up a shade short.
“Sometimes that’s the way of the rugby gods. He was up there thinking ‘I’m not sure Exeter deserve to win this’. Sometimes it works like that.”