Exeter v Northampton: Five takeaways as England hopeful the ‘only bright light’ in a sea of Chiefs’ mediocrity against ‘second string’ Saints
Our takeaways from Exeter's 42-14 victory over Northampton Saints.
Following the Exeter Chiefs’ 42-14 Northampton Saints, here are our five takeaways from the Premiership clash at Sandy Park.
Top Line
Exeter Chiefs put their Kingholm nightmare behind them as they recorded a bonus point win against Northampton Saints‘ development team.
Remarkably, it was only the fourth time this season the Chiefs have claimed a four-try bonus point, but the performance was far from convincing, despite the scoreline showing the biggest total from the hosts so far this season.
Their six tries came from Nick Lilley, Harvey Skinner (2), the outstanding Paul Brown-Bampoe (2), and Martin Moloney as Saints’ own inefficiency allowed the hosts to build and consolidate their lead. Perhaps some might say that Northampton dropped off a little in the last ten minutes, but that would denude the impact Exeter’s replacements made, in particular Tamati Tua, who got some much-needed shape into their backline.
Saints replied with tries from Jake Garside and Tom Lockett- but they’ll probably be disappointed at how many scoring opportunities they failed to convert, struggling to find that final pass or break when in touching distance of the Exeter line.
Nevertheless, whilst Rob Baxter will breathe an exasperated sigh of relief, the performance was less than the scoreline suggested. The commitment of the Saints youngsters, who showed huge promise as they embark on a completely different journey to their opponents, will result in Phil Dowson, the defeated Head Coach, smiling a little more broadly than Baxter, who has some serious work to do to rebuild his team.
Exeter Woes
Two soft tries conceded by Saints probably flattered the Exeter scoreline- one from an interception and the other from a poor missed primary tackle by Fyn Brown – both just before half-time.
Dan Frost and Josh Iosefa-Scott gave the hosts a second half shot in the arm off the bench, but looking at the overall Chiefs performance and factoring in they were facing a Saints team that at best could be called a B side, at worst a developmental lineup, the litany of disorganiational howlers and completion errors were the stuff of nightmares.
Where to start? The poor decision-making in attack will make a horror reel. They were held up on several occasions, a quick line out failed, they were penalised for taking men out in air, and after a great 50/22 they managed to remove their own momentum with a terrible overthrown lineout.
It was a team of 15 individuals looking as if they’d been introduced in the car park just before kick-off. The accuracy in contact was dreadful, often off feet and lacking any form of percussion and accuracy into the breakdown; time and time again, the midfield attacking structure was so poor that four passes were overrun in a matter of 12 minutes in the first half.
It was a comedy of errors and had they played against any form of top-tier Premiership side, there’s little doubt that they would have ended up on the wrong side of the scoresheet. It was the simple things, basics of rugby like ball care, pass completion and defensive structure that all seem to have deserted the Chiefs and they need to start executing these tasks if they’re to retain any sort of chance of avoiding relegation when it returns to the Premiership next season.
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Saints Inefficiency
Northampton Saints can take a lot of good things from this match as their development side maintained the structure and focus that is the hallmark of their team. They may not have taken the spoils but, unlike Chiefs, they looked properly organised, well structured and all playing to a clear plan.
However, the one thing that will frustrate them is their own red-zone efficiency. In boxing terms, they showed the moves but failed to land the killer punches- a sign perhaps of young players learning how to finish off opportunities.
The stats showed some 62% territory and 59% possession, with some nine 22 visits and only two scores to show from it.
They’ll learn how to finish off in time, but the big takeaway is that against a far more experienced side, they looked structured, intelligent and organised, three qualities that totally eluded their hosts.
Young Depth
But whilst Northampton Saints were inefficient, the promise of their young guns was clear for all to see.
Full-back Jake Garside, in his first Premiership start not only scored the Saints opener, but his pace and ambition running the ball out in exit demonstrated his immense potential and underlined why Attack Coach Sam Vesty is so excited at this young prospect. In front of him, both Tom Seabrook and Tom Litchfield had their moments, with Litchfield showing the benefit that a 16-stone centre brings to any midfield.
Fyn Brown may have missed a crucial tackle on Brown-Bampoe, but his power with ball in hand was evident for Saints, especially in the first half where the young flanker made some serious dents in the Exeter gainline defence. Add in the promising displays from England U20 stars Tarek Haffar, rumbustious with ball in hand, and a very classy showing of line out basics from Chunya Munya and Saints will be pretty pleased at how their supporting acts are developing for the future seasons ahead of the club.
Failed Character
Exeter are not short of experience or perceived quality in their team. They fielded a very competitive back five with test caps and some real size from England flanker Ethan Roots, Richard Capstick, Jacques Vermeulen, Rusi Tuima and Dafydd Jenkins, a Welsh test lock.
Factor in a backline that includes a World Cup finalist with 70-plus caps in Henry Slade and a Wallaby test prop and the lack of execution and focus becomes quite staggering. Nothing could have summed their day up more than Josh Hodge’s howler on the line, a symptom of the total lack of confidence that permeates Rob Baxter’s side.
The back-row was dominated by Saints’ second string, with Angus Scott Young shining in a really impressive shift as he gets himself ready for a bench role in the Investec Champions Cup final, and Tom Lockett strutting his stuff with a powerful try from close quarters.
Nothing could have been more of a metaphor for the performance than watching Henry Slade’s form dipping even further than the mediocrity that saw him axed from the England test midfield. There has to be questions asked about his concentration, motivation and desire as he kicked possession away, threw passes into touch, knocked on in contact and missed simple defensive work in a system he’s supposed to lead in a quite awful display in the centres.
The only bright lights of Chiefs was another try scoring romp from their outstanding young winger Brown-Bampoe, a man that’s stayed afloat in a sea of mediocrity all year and someone you’d think might well feature in Steve Borthwick’s summer plans, and a promising try scoring debut from young flyer Nick Lilley.
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