Battling Chiefs show champion pedigree
HOLDERS Exeter showed the maturity and mentality of champions as they overturned a 14-0 deficit to secure a home quarter-final against four-times winners Leinster next weekend.
But, after watching his side hit back to score seven tries, Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “We will have to be better next week – and we will be.”
Baxter, acknowledging that it was always going to be difficult to integrate his returning internationals back into the Exeter system, said: “I always thought it was going to be a bit funny early on.
“We did make mistakes and they did capitalise on them but we stayed strong and true to how we wanted to play and that’s seen us through.”
Lyon, playing their first European Champions Cup knockout match, struck first when Toby Arnold cruised past Alec Hepburn to send scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud in for a fifthminute try.
A lost lineout led to the second with Arnold providing the final pass for Xavier Mignot to cross in the corner. With veteran flyhalf Jonathan Wisniewski converting both the Chiefs’ title defence looked in serious trouble.
A couple of handling errors and another lost lineout hindered the Exeter fightback before they punished the visitors’ lack of discipline which saw them concede nine first-half penalties.
After Hepburn was held up over the line a tap penalty and three drives enabled Jonny Hill to force his way over.
Wisniewski’s penalty put Lyon 17-5 ahead but Exeter’s unrelenting pressure told as Vivien Devisme was yellow-carded for dragging down a Chiefs maul.
Another Luke Cowan-Dickie tap penalty ended with Hill stretching over for his second try.
When Lyon infringed again Slade’s penalty into touch provided the lineout launchpad which ended with Olly Woodburn – the only starter from last week’s Premiership defeat at Gloucester – producing a piercing diagonal run to put Tom O’Flaherty over in the left corner. Wisniewski’s second penalty edged his side one point ahead in the 33rd minute but it was all Exeter after that.
Lyon paid a heavy price for a moment of stupidity as Welsh referee Ben Whitehouse reversed a penalty decision after Francisco Gomez Kodela grabbed a handful of Hepburn’s hair during a skirmish.
It turned attack into defence. Lyon conceded a scrum penalty, Sam Simmonds carried, Ollie Devoto crossed and Joe Simmonds converted for a 26-20 halftime lead.
Jonny Gray’s charge down the middle, batting off three tacklers launched a wave of Exeter pick-andgo assaults which ended with Dave Ewers driving over.
Both sides replaced their front rows and Exeter dominated the battle of the subs as Welsh Six Nations winner Tomas Francis proved too hot for the French pack to handle.
Xavier Chiocci was sinbinned as the Lyon set-piece floundered and, with Devisme back on, Francis obliterated the next packdown to force a penalty try.
Woodburn made it seven when replacement scrumhalf Stu Townsend side-footed the ball behind a flat visiting defence.
Lyon never threw in the towel and, after Exeter replacement Jannes Kirsten saw yellow for a trip, Dylan Cretin powered away down the left for a consolation try.