Following Exeter Chiefs’ 22-15 win over Gloucester in the final Premiership game of 2024, here are our five key takeaways from Sandy Park.
The top line
The pressure was certainly on the hosts ahead of the game, given they have lost 10 of their 13 games in all competitions this year and hadn’t won at home since May, but they got off to the perfect start as Dan Frost crossed after just two minutes.
Gloucester swiftly responded with a Santi Carreras three-pointer, but momentum was still with the hosts as they added a second through Tamati Tua.
Exeter continued to have the better of the chances, and could have had a third if Richard Capstick had gotten a pass away in the corner just before half-time.
This came back to haunt the hosts early into the second-half, as Gareth Anscombe nabbed a misplaced Exeter pass to stroll in under the sticks.
Gloucester’s second-half revival continued, as Jamal Ford-Robinson flopped over to give his side the lead for the first time in the game after 60 minutes, but Carreras’ missed conversion limited it to a one-point buffer.
It lasted mere moments though, as Slade put his side back in the lead with a penalty. That too was nearly extinguished after a couple of minutes, however, Carreras yet again pulled his kick wide.
Exeter quickly rubbed salt into this wound too, as Josh Iosefa-Scott burrowed over from short range for the score and cementing Exeter’s first Premiership win of the season.
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Rob Baxter’s side now move up to ninth in the table, two points clear of Newcastle Falcons, but Gloucester miss the chance to head into the top four for the new year.
Festive fixtures a huge hit
A 15,000 sellout crowd at Sandy Park was welcome news for the higher-ups at the Chiefs, but it was just one of several huge crowds recorded this weekend.
Harlequins drew a whopping 82,000 people to Allianz Stadium for Big Game 16 against Leicester, Bath and Northampton both posted sellouts in their respective fixtures against Saracens and Newcastle (Bath 14,509, Northampton 15,249). There was also a healthy crowd at Ashton Gate for Sale’s win over Bristol.
These bumper crowds right across the top flight are a much-welcomed boost for the domestic game in England and should certainly be celebrated as such.
Where have this Exeter been all season?
There’s no hiding it, Exeter have been pretty rotten this season; but today everything they did had intent and want behind it that they’ve simply lacked to date.
The backline, led by the talismanic Henry Slade actually looked to play quickly and through spaces. So far this year, the backs division has had this methodical approach of sticking to system rather than playing eyes-up rugby, but that vanished today.
Look back at their first attack of the game, which eventually led to their first try. Josh Hodge shapes to kick, probably the prescribed play, but he scans around just before and sees Slade, who in turns charges through the backline. Their second try was also a great example of this too, as Slade sends out a cross-field kick to Tua for a score; they definitely wouldn’t have done that a few weeks ago.
In the pack, too, things seemed to have changed. Too often this year they have been bashed back in the tight, but again they had a different vibe around them today; an aura of the old Chiefs, if you will.
Ethan Roots looked back to the charging buffalo that he was last year, Greg Fisilau – typically – brought heaps of physicality around the park, and Jacques Vermeulen carried with serious aggression that we haven’t seen from him this year too. Around this, the return of Dafydd Jenkins seems to have galvanised the pack, with his workhorse mentality really driving the likes of Richard Capstick and Dan Frost to new heights.
The set-piece was pretty solid too, which would have pleased forward coaches Rob Hunter and Ross McMillan no end after their dismal showing in this department up at Sale.
Defence was also much-improved. Exeter have been porous in defence this year, as they have made their already aggressive blitz even more in-your-face, but today they toned it down a tad and looked more comfortable as a result.
There was just something different about Exeter today. Something has seemingly clicked.
Pedestrian Gloucester
Whilst a lot of the focus should go on the Chiefs, Gloucester seemed a shell of the side that has won their past three games.
Gloucester’s new-look attack relies on speed of ball and accuracy, but they lacked both today. Exeter’s intent at the breakdown, led by Fisilau and Vermeulen, restricted Tomos Williams to slow ball at the base, which then in turn gave Gareth Anscombe slow ball to play from.
On top of this, when they did manage to get quick-ball, costly knock-ons from the likes of Christian Wade, Josh Hathaway and Seb Atkinson halted pretty promising attacks.
George Skivington has built a very sturdy pack over the past few seasons, but today they comfortably second-best. Around the park, they just struggled to contain the intense Chiefs back-row, even if Lewis Ludlow had a field-day at the ruck with his turnovers. Rugby is a tough sport to play if you’re going backwards, and Gloucester found themselves in exactly that position.
The set-piece was also fairly sloppy, again not like the past few weeks, especially the lineout. Exeter’s opening try came from a misfire, which gleefully fell into Frost’s arms, and that pretty much set the tone for their evenings work in this department. In the first-half, Gloucester posted a 72% lineout success rate, compared to Exeter’s 100%. The scrum was also not at its best.
Skivington’s side did show glimpses though, and were pretty solid in the second-half in all honesty, but they still lacked that clinical edge to get past Exeter.
There’s a lot to like about Gloucester and the way they have gone about their business this season, but today was not one of those occasions unfortunately. No doubt though, this is just a blip.
England watch
As always with the Premiership, there were plenty of English players who will have made an impression on Steve Borthwick.
For Exeter, Slade was instrumental in the win with an exemplary performance. Roots looked to have rediscovered the form that saw him drafted into the England squad in the first place last year with some physical play on both sides of the ball. Fisilau too was incredibly physical around the park. Tommy Wyatt was also in fine touch, as he has been pretty much since his return to the Chiefs team, and was a consistent threat ball-in-hand. Hooker Frost also had a exceptional game, crossing the path between front-rower and back with relative ease.
Gloucester skipper Ludlow also gave a good account of himself in an industrious display, particularly around the breakdown.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/exeter-v-gloucester-five-takeaways-as-talismanic-england-ace-brings-back-aura-of-old-chiefs-in-maiden-win
