Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs: Winners and losers as ‘world class’ Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and ‘wonderful’ signings shine on ‘nightmare’ day for hookers
Exeter Chiefs wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso impressed against Leicester Tigers.
Following a 35-26 triumph for Exeter Chiefs against Leicester Tigers on Sunday, here’s our winners and losers from the PREM Rugby clash at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Winners
Andrea Zambonin: What a signing the Italy international has been. The 25-year-old former Zebre Parma lock did not stop all match and his numbers reflected that. It was fitting that he got the game-winning score for Exeter Chiefs late on and didn’t he finish it well? Combined perfectly with tackling machine Dafydd Jenkins. Rocks both.
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: World class. The England star began the fixture in scintillating fashion as he sliced through the Tigers defence from a kick return to set up Olly Woodburn’s early try. Feyi-Waboso backed that up with a monster tackle on Ollie Hassell-Collins and was generally a beast at close quarters, making good metres that on one occasion saw him skittle four Leicester tacklers out of his way. No doubt Steve Borthwick will be delighted to see the Chiefs flyer in this kind of form.
George Pearson: He may have been on the losing side but that was a solid first PREM Rugby start for the 20-year-old full-back. In for the injured Freddie Steward, Pearson was strong in the air throughout and took his first-half try impressively too, holding his width as Orlando Bailey’s superb kick pass found him in open space. Some things to work on of course but for a youngster in a tough position, in such a hotly contested and important game, he can hold his head high despite the loss.
Len Ikitau: Like Zambonin, the Wallaby has been a wonderful signing for Exeter and he more than brought the goods on Sunday. Chiefs supporters would have been worried when he was forced off early on for a HIA but thankfully he passed the test and came back in destructive form, providing front-foot ball galore and sending an excellent inside ball to Woodburn for his second try of the afternoon. Earlier Ikitau had finished his try on the left wing well and was a vital cog in this away win.
Tommy Reffell: Made his presence felt early on with two penalties won at the breakdown and added a third in the second period for good measure. The Welshman was smart in how he approached the ruck as he gave himself room to pounce and boy did he frustrate Exeter in that area. A strange call to replace him so early in the game though.
Stephen Varney: A ball of energy all afternoon and got better as the contest wore on, with this a crucial 80-minute performance from the Chiefs scrum-half. 63 metres with ball in hand and he provided zippy service from the base. Some of his box kicks were undercooked in the second-half wind but that’s quibbling as he had a strong game.
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Losers
Hookers: It was nightmare stuff at the lineout for the hookers as Leicester‘s Jamie Blamire and Exeter’s Max Norey struggled to find their men on more than one occasion. Blamire had the worst of it as his first two throws found Chiefs hands before the Tiger overthrew one in the second 40. Norey was also out of sorts in this area on Sunday.
Bristol: The result at Matteoli Woods Welford Road has ended the Bears’ dreams of making the PREM Rugby play-offs as they now sit six points behind Exeter. With the talent at their disposal this is a seismic setback for Pat Lam’s men and no doubt the post-mortem will begin, just as soon as they get their trip to Sale Sharks out of the way.
Josh Iosefa-Scott: Came off second best to Nicky Smith at the scrum and doubled down on conceding a penalty in that set-piece by then coughing up a ruck penalty shortly afterwards. That gave the Tigers a 14-13 buffer at the break but thankfully for Iosefa-Scott it didn’t prove costly in the end as Exeter claimed a famous win on the road.
Ollie Hassell-Collins: It was a somewhat hurried and clumsy performance from the wing as Hassell-Collins had two chances to score but overran a pass and later possibly could have done better to collect another loose effort. The latter might sound harsh but sinking and getting his body between the ball and the sideline was what was needed on that occasion. Compounding those mistakes was copping that massive hit from Feyi-Waboso as he came off second best to the Chief by some distance.
Saracens: Sunday’s result is the worst-case scenario for Saracens as they now find themselves three points behind Exeter Chiefs, who they face at a bouncing Sandy Park on Saturday. Throw into that the confidence this win at fortress Welford Road will do for Exeter’s confidence and the task awaiting Sarries suddenly becomes much harder.
