KINGS OF EUROPE
Chiefs’ last-gasp win
AS the streamers filled the air and flamethrowers lit up the night sky, it was a fitting end to Exeter’s fairytale that two local lads lifted the trophy. Rob Baxter watched on with glazed eyes as Jack Yeandle and Joe Simmonds hoisted the Champions Cup above their heads. Almost a decade after winning promotion from the second division of English rugby, Exeter completed their long and unpredictable journey from the corners of Devon to the summit of Europe.
This could be the start of a new era of dominance and, given the scale of their achievement, it is surely a matter of time before a statue of Baxter is erected outside Sandy Park. Ever since he changed the numbers on the club’s scoreboard as a child, Baxter’s name has been synonymous with their rise through the ranks — and he is now on course to lead his side to a famous double.
Half an hour after the final whistle, Jack Nowell was still sitting in the middle of the pitch, embracing the moment. Like his team-mates, the winger fought for every inch as the 14-men Chiefs held on to become the sixth English side to win this competition.
‘It’s an incredible story for these guys and an incredible story for the club,’ said Baxter. ‘It’ll be a game I remember for a long time. That last 10 minutes seemed to go on forever but we saw it out. It looks like it was meant to be.
‘ The guys have made a lot of sacrifice to get through this stage and haven’t had their friends and support to see them in the biggest game of their lives. Some are crying, delighted — some can hardly talk and some are over the moon. That’s what rugby is about and we got the emotions right.’
The Chiefs have never forgotten their roots. Their team is still made up of sons of local butchers, farmers and fishermen. Of their 31 points, 26 were scored by academy products.
The game played out l i ke a contest between men and machines. It was the footloose and fancy-free Parisians against Exeter’s system of bone-crushing cogs. The scene before kick off summed up the contrasts i n approach. While Exeter performed coordinated team stretches, Finn Russell was juggling three rugby balls.
Racing practised no-look passes and emerged for kick-off wearing pink bow ties. But the Chiefs dagger was sharper than any Parisian swagger. In fact, there were early moments when Racing played as if they had just stumbled out of a late night dinner party.
Their scrum-half, Teddy Iribaren, missed touch with an early penalty and, a couple of minutes later, attempted to throw a quick lineout to himself. Nowell snared the No 9 and forced a penalty. Exeter kicked to the corner and the cogs started turning. Jonny Gray claimed an attacking lineout and, inch by i nch, t hey drove forward for
Luke Cowan-Dickie to score the opening try.
A group of Racing reserves tried to fire up their team with a screeching cacophony of air horns, but the squeeze continued. The Parisians played with fire in their own 22 and Exeter turned up with a giant pail of water. Jonny Hill’s linespeed forced Russell to fumble the ball in his in-goal area. Exeter built pressure from the scrum and Sam Simmonds added his side’s second try before the end of the first quarter.
For 20 minutes, Exeter managed to shackle Russell’s attacking instincts. Stuart Hogg shadowed the fly-half behind the defensive line to leave no space for his dangerous chip kicks, with defenders shouting ‘Get Russell!’ to cut down his time on the ball.
Attempting to nullify Russell’s link with Virimi Vakatawa, Exeter left space out wide and Russell threw an inch-perfect miss pass to Simon Zebo, who found space to score on the right wing.
Russell spread the ball from touchline to touchline, using stocky hooker Camille Chat to smash over the gain line. And Juan Imhoff was
on hand to score his side’s second, throwing a dummy before sniping under the posts.
But the comeback was nipped in the bud.
Harry Williams drove over to score before half time, with the Chiefs once again showing their potency from five metres out.
Racing replaced Iribaren with Maxime Machenaud and began the second half with more direction. They camped in Chiefs territory, before Zebo collected another Russell pass to score.
It seemed like the occasion had got into Exeter heads. Although Slade edged his side back after Nowell i ntercepted a Russell pass, the Parisians clawed their way back to 28-17. Camille Chat drove over from a lineout, before Machenaud kicked a penalty.
Tomas Francis was sinbinned for a knock-on in the 72nd minute and a late Racing victory seemed inevitable. They built up 19 phases on the Chiefs tryline but were turned over by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne. And Simmonds kicked a late penalty to round off the night, which will live long in Exeter memory.