Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins: 5 takeaways as ‘imperious’ visitors shine, while England man ‘ready for All Blacks’
Harlequins compounded Exeter's misery with a bonus-point win at Sandy Park
Following Harlequins’ 36-19 victory over Exeter in the Premiership, here are our five key takeaways from an entertaining clash at Sandy Park.
The top line
Exeter v Harlequins is never a dull game, and this was no exception.
The visitors came out the blocks fast and piled the pressure on from the get-go. After missing two golden chances in the opening 10 minutes, Harlequins finally struck through Oscar Beard as he sliced through the Chiefs defence from short range.
This effort sparked the game into new life, as the teams exchanged scores. Ross Vintcent grabbed Exeter’s first of the day, as he ran a superb support line off Olly Woodburn to score. Just minutes later, Rodrigo Isgro struck back for Harlequins after a delicious strike play.
Quins were looking imperious in the first-half, and they made their early dominance count with their third try. A brilliant surge from Lennox Anyanwu allowed the Londoners to set up shop in Exeter’s 22, and after some strong carries, Will Evans broke through the defence to cross under the sticks.
Exeter needed a moment of brilliance to come back into the game, step forward Will Rigg. The powerhouse centre – who only arrived from Championship outfit Coventry mid-way through last year – found himself in space just outside the 22, and he put his head down and charged through the defence to score.
The teams went end-to-end in the opening exchanges of the second-half, but it was the visitors who got the all-important score. After a somewhat fortuitous kick from Ross Chisholm, Evans reacted quickly to score.
Exeter again hit back through Ben Hammersley, with the young centre crossing from short range, but a three-pointer from Jarrod Evans gave Quins a 10-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
With the clock winding down, there was one last hurrah for Quins, as Cadan Murley latched onto a clever grubber for Danny Care to score.
The win now takes Harlequins into fifth spot in the table, while Exeter’s wait for their first Premiership win of the season goes on.
Dazzling Harlequins backline
I write above that Quins looked ‘imperious’, but that potentially does their attack a disservice. The visitors’ back three, Green, Isgro and Murley, were unbelievable on the counter-attack. They just added a real touch of class to the attack on the whole.
Their midfield combination of Beard and Anyanwu added some more go-forward to proceedings, in particular Anyanwu. Their more direct work through the middle really complimented the overall attack and added a lovely new dynamic to it.
Elsewhere, Will Porter’s good form continued; and he is quickly proving to be the perfect scrum-half to play this Quins style – no doubt with the assistance of Care. His natural speed makes him a real threat around the breakdown, but he can generate consistent quick-ball to get his side purring in attack.
A lot of the focus of Quins’ attack – naturally – goes onto Marcus Smith, but they looked just as comfortable with Jarrod Evans steering the ship. He combined well with Porter to get them on the front foot, and his eye for a gap proved crucial in their counter-attacks too.
Just dazzling work all round from the backline.
Henry Slade
His return was the big talking point in the build-up, and based on this performance he is certainly ready to take on the All Blacks next weekend.
The Chiefs didn’t have much ball to play with in the first half, but Slade was a constant threat with ball-in-hand. He was able to drag Exeter over the gainline consistently with some solid carries, but in typical fashion, his ball-playing skills proved vital in bringing in-form back Woodburn into space and in turn dragging Exeter up the pitch.
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The main reason for his return was potentially to test out his defence though, with England playing a very similar style to Exeter with an aggressive blitz, but again he looked solid in this area. He was solid in the tackle, but also injected speed into the defensive line, which will put him good stead for the Autumn Nations Series.
Another crucial part of his game was his calmness. The game threatened to get away from Exeter at times, but just having him on the pitch kept them in the contest and allowed them to put up a spirited fight.
Much improved Exeter, but still major work-ons
It’s been a really tough time for the Devonians in the Premiership to date, but they were much-improved against Harlequins. They have been found wanting in the contact area this season, but today they looked up for the fight. Imposing back-rowers Greg Fisilau, Vintcent and Jacques Vermeulen led the charge in this department, but it extended across the pack and they reaped the rewards of it. Powerful centre Rigg was also seriously strong in the contact area, and his abrasive carrying was the spark they’ve missed in the backs division.
Elsewhere, they looked a lot slicker in attack, which again has been a serious issue for them this season. Will Haydon-Wood is still learning his craft at the top level, but he led the team around the park pretty well and got them playing a touch wider than they have to date. He also reaped the rewards of Will Becconsall, who looked fairly tidy on his return to the starting XV. The Cornishman was able to provide consistent clean ball for Haydon-Wood to play off and also put in some clever kicks along the way.
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Whilst there were some pleasing signs of improvement – especially considering the performance last week – they still have some major things they need to fix. They brought a lot more physicality in defence, but they compounded this with a whopping 32 missed tackles in the first-half alone, which allowed Quins to get the upper hand from the get-go. This is simply not good enough at the top standard.
It’s also not the first time they have been caught out in defence this season. Saracens and even Newcastle got plenty of change against their blitz defence, and Quins also capitalised on Exeter’s over-aggressiveness.
Rob Baxter will hopefully take the positives from this display into the international break and Premiership Rugby Cup block, but they need to learn the lessons from games like this if they want things to change this season.
England watch
As always, there was plenty of English-qualified talent on display, and here is a rundown of the top performers from this group.
For Exeter, in-form back Woodburn yet again put in an excellent performance on both sides of the ball. He chipped in with two brilliant try-saving tackles and also looked a threat out wide. Newly English-qualified Vermeulen was again superb for the Chiefs despite the loss, as was snubbed youngster Fisilau, who did his chances of featuring for England A no harm at all.
There were also several Harlequins men who impressed. Axed centre Beard was solid throughout his shift, and grabbed a deserved try for his efforts. Scrum-half Porter also looked in great touch across the game, and really led Quins around the pitch. Rounding off their picks, Anyanwu brought heaps of physicality to proceedings on both sides of the ball, and again put himself in the window for a potential England A call-up.
