Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins: Five takeaways as England star provides ideal response to ‘generational talent’s’ arrival in emphatic victory
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso in action for Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins' Chandler Cunningham-South.
Following a 38-0 victory for Exeter Chiefs over Harlequins, here are our five takeaways from the Gallagher PREM clash at Sandy Park on Sunday.
The top line
Exeter Chiefs produced a statement performance as they put in a dominant display to move up to fifth in the Prem table.
Combining the destructive work of their pack, where back-row duo Tom Hooper and Ethan Roots stood out, with the speed of their outside backs, they ran in five tries in an outstanding showing at Sandy Park.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso sent another message to England head coach Steve Borthwick by going over for the first try and producing a display which showed his vast array of skills, including the all-important aerial work.
Henry Slade, too, had a fine outing. A favourite of the Red Rose head coach, he may well start against the Wallabies and his two tries and five conversions suggested that he is hitting form at the right time.
Those two England internationals were joined on the scoresheet by Harvey Skinner and Greg Fisilau as the Chiefs put together a complete team performance that will make the rest of the league sit up and take notice.
Response to England’s next superstar
Since Saturday night, the talk has all been about Saracens’ teenage sensation Noah Caluori, who was utterly sublime in the demolition of Sale Sharks at StoneX Stadium. When a player produces a performance at that level, England talk is never far away, even at his age, but Feyi-Waboso may have taken a certain amount of offence to it.
Caluori has all the qualities to be a generational talent and he quite frankly made his opposite number, and England’s right wing in Argentina, Tom Roebuck, look like an amateur, but Feyi-Waboso has started the season in magnificent fashion.
Ultimately, only injury prevented him from touring with the British and Irish Lions in the summer and the 22-year-old has been quick to remind everyone of his undoubted quality. He had already scored five tries in three matches going into this clash and he added another to his tally with a fine finish from Slade’s cross-field kick.
England are blessed with outstanding wings, whose skill sets very much suit the modern game. Caluori is another to add to that list but Feyi-Waboso is demanding Borthwick select him for their opening game of the Autumn Nations Series against the Wallabies.
Wallabies watch
Speaking of Australia, two players who won’t feature in that contest are Hooper and Len Ikitau due to their association with Exeter Chiefs. The game takes place outside the international window and the Prem bigwigs have always remained firm about releasing non-England players.
Exeter and their supporters got a glimpse of what they will offer this season after making their debuts on Sunday and, as expected, they slotted in pretty seamlessly. Given the atrocious conditions, it perhaps wasn’t a match necessarily suited to Ikitau, but the world-class centre found a way of making an impact. He was physical throughout and his classy pass to Slade showed the deft touches the 27-year-old can bring.
As for Hooper, he took slightly longer to find his feet but he was simply everywhere in the second period, displaying his physicality at close quarters and good hands with the ball. The Australian flanker was not the best of the back-row, with Roots putting in a performance which will interest Borthwick, but on this evidence, those two, alongside Fisilau, could be potent loose trio.
Number eight crisis
There was an air of disappointment following Saracens’ victory over Sale when it was announced that Tom Willis, who has established himself as England’s first choice number eight, would be departing to France at the end of the season.
One player who wouldn’t have necessarily been unhappy, however, is Chandler Cunningham-South, a potential option in that role who outplayed Willis last weekend, but even he was in despair by half-time. The scoreline would have been the main irritation, with them 24-0 in arrears at the interval, but on a personal level it was also a bad day.
Quins as a unit simply failed to garner any momentum in the opening period and that made Cunningham-South’s job extra difficult. The versatile forward did have a few rumbles in contact, but his impact was limited before he then went off in the 34th minute due to injury. He did not look in too much discomfort but it will be a concern for Borthwick with the Wallabies clash just two weeks away.
Good time to assess
There is still one more round of action before the Prem’s international break but it is a good time to take stock after four games of the season. For Exeter, they will be very content after the disaster of last season, with this success taking them up to fifth, level on points with Bristol Bears.
They will have been disappointed by their reversal at Bristol but victories over Newcastle Falcons and Harlequins, allied by an impressive comeback draw against Northampton Saints, suggests that they have rectified a few of their issues.
It is too early to proclaim that the Chiefs are back but the physicality of their pack, combined with the speed and creativity of their outside backs, as well as the improvement of Skinner at fly-half, was very impressive.
Exeter’s attitude will be in stark contrast to Harlequins, who suffered their third defeat of the season and were a far cry from the side that were so excellent in overcoming London rivals Saracens last weekend. After a summer of upheaval at the Twickenham Stoop, there is much to ponder for Quins heading into their game against Newcastle Red Bulls, which is an absolute must-win.