Chiefs do enough to get past Newcastle
IT wasn’t pretty, in fact it was downright ugly at times, but Rob Baxter won’t be complaining too much when he looks at the current Premiership table.
His youthful Chiefs moved back into the playoff picture courtesy of first-half tries from Greg Fisilau, Zack Wimbush, Scott Sio and Rus Tuima.
They were the highlights in a contest which failed to hit the ground running after the much-anticipated return to top-flight action.
There was plenty of huff and puff on offer from both sides, but in a game littered with penalties – 27 in total – it will be the Chiefs who take more for what promises to be a lively run-in to the end of the season.
“I am impressed with the lads, they could have got a lot wrong today, but instead they got a lot right,” said Chiefs DoR Baxter.
“We didn’t start well, we got a couple of things wrong defensively and we were seven points down. But we slowly worked our way back into the game, we scored our tries to get the bonus point.”
Steve Diamond’s side could not have got off to a better start, the visitors silencing Sandy Park inside two minutes as winger Ben Stevenson powered his way down the left flank, thundering over Josh Hodge in the process to claim the game’s opening try.
Visiting cheers, however, proved short-lived as the Chiefs, aided by the concession of a series of penalties from the Falcons, cut the deficit when
No.8 Fisilau finished off from close range.
Exeter’s Welsh international centre Joe Hawkins was penalised for holding on from the restart. It was a gift of a penalty and Brett Connon made no mistake from the 22.
Although still adrift, the Chiefs continued to look the more enterprising in attack and they eventually drew level, midway through the half, when Wimbush was gifted the easiest of scores, the home centre dotting down unopposed after Falcons full-back Elliott Obatoyinbo
surprisingly parried a speculative kick from Hawkins back into the open field.
The momentum was with the Chiefs and, with the Falcons hindered by a rising penalty count as well as a yellow card for flanker Guy Pepper, Baxter’s side were able to prosper as Sio rumbled over for their third try of the contest in the left corner.
A second Connon penalty helped keep the Falcons in check, only for the Chiefs to wrap up the try bonus point on the stroke of half time, Tuima barging his way over from five metres for the score, which was converted by Hodge.
Keen to build on their first half advantage, the Chiefs started the second half brightly enough. Early endeavours gave them decent inroads into the Falcons half, only for their efforts to fall foul of the referee’s whistle.
Whereas it was an issue for Diamond’s side in the first period, now the Chiefs were guilty of coughing up needless penalties, one of which was bagged by Connon to leave just six points between the two rivals.
Hodge saw a lengthy penalty chance of his own cannon back off the left post in a rare moment of interest during a turgid second half. However, he atoned late on when he nudged his side two scores clear after some sustained Exeter pressure, which also saw Newcastle’s replacement hooker Bryan Byrne sin-binned for killing the ball.
With chances at a premium in a game of such ill-discipline, the ending summed up the occasion as Connon pulled a late penalty wide with the last kick of the game.