Bath v Exeter Chiefs: Five takeaways as Bok recruit ‘spares Devonian blushes’ against impressive rookies
Joseph Dweba with an inset of Johann van Graan
Following Exeter Chiefs’ 23-14 win over Bath in round two of the PREM Cup, here are our five key takeaways from the Rec.
The top line
Exeter Chiefs secured an away win over West Country rivals Bath, but they were pushed all the way by Johann van Graan’s young guns.
A Thompson Cowan score either side of two Henry Slade penalties gave Bath a 7-6 lead going into half-time, and things were just as tight in the second, too.
Dan John’s score just before the hour gave Exeter a slender lead, which lasted mere minutes before Louis Hennessey added Bath’s second, but the power of the Chiefs bench took its toll as Joseph Dweba and Stephen Varney grabbed two late scores to send the Devonians home with the spoils.
The victory sees Exeter climb off the bottom of Pool Two after two rounds of the PREM Cup, with Bath taking their place.
PREM era is here
It might only be two weekends into the season, and we’ve not even had the first regular PREM game yet, but it’s hard to ignore the genuine excitement around English rugby right now.
Walking around the Rec, you were met with PREM signs in its bright orange font. Garish? Yes. Ignorable? No.
The pre-game build-up at the Rec merged with the new era too. The fireworks upon Bath’s arrival, the brass band and drums welcoming Exeter out, even the videos on the big screen, it all just felt like it was entering this new era.
It’s going to be a bloody good year.
Youthful Bath impress
Before kick-off, you could have been excused for thinking this would be an easy win for the Devonians, but Bath’s young guns stood firm against a side littered with internationals.
Of the 23 named, four were making their senior bows for the club, while the likes of Tyler Offiah, Austin Emens, Tom Carr-Smith and Ewan Richards are still very much in their professional infancy, but they didn’t look like rookies in the slightest.
They were up for every contest in the tight, often winning the collisions in the process, while their backline also looked to make positive decisions and play into space. Their tries came via some good fortune, granted, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they did deserve to score, given the wider context of the game.
Crucially, it didn’t feel like the proverbial ‘B-team’; it felt like any other 23-man side you would see in a regular PREM fixture. It had all the hallmarks of a Bath performance, built on doing the simple stuff well.
It was just a very complete team performance, and one that will certainly please Van Graan ahead of the start of the regular PREM campaign.
Progress?
Anything would be an improvement on last year, but it’s still tough to gauge whether Exeter have actually come on based on this display.
There were flashes of genuine quality, to their credit. Paul Brown-Bampoe again looked a consistent threat both in the air and out wide, Josh Hodge threatened to break away when he was used in space and Slade had a couple nice touches on his comeback match.
But far too often, the Chiefs made sloppy errors – a trend which blighted them last year too.
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It almost seemed like they were trying too hard at times. For instance, they would throw a really aggressive bullet pass when all it needed was a deft pop, or they’d throw a wide pass out when it just needed to go to hands. The intent was pleasing, but the accuracy was lacking.
The defence was less hit-and-miss, though, and can be built on. Even if spaces appeared in different areas, they were quickly shut down and neutralised, while the aggressive blitz was much more calm and collected.
Around that, too, the set-piece was pretty strong. The lineout and the maul fired fairly well and the scrum became a strong-point as the game went on.
They got the job done, eventually, but it’s still tough to gauge where they are right now.
Bomb Squad spare blushes
Exeter could easily have lost this contest, but the impact of bench players Dweba, Will Goodrick-Clarke, Josh Iosefa-Scott, Andrea Zambonin and Kane James spared Devonian blushes.
The front-row unit, and Dweba in particular, gave some rocket fuel into this Exeter performance. They mercilessly tore through the Bath pack, sending two of them to the sin-bin in the process, while the Bok recruit added his name to the scoresheet with a try reminiscent of the Exeter of old.
Across the park, too, they just added some serious power and genuine intent to the side to turn the tide and own the tight spaces.
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