Premiership: Five takeaways from Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs as Olly Woodburn can feel hard done by
Following a 62-19 victory for Leicester Tigers over Exeter Chiefs in their Premiership fixture, here’s our five takeaways from the match at Welford Road on Sunday.
History maker
Congratulations to Chris Ashton, who became the first player ever to touch down 100 times in the Premiership during Sunday’s clash. Rather aptly, he did it by scoring a hat-trick, but it was his second which sealed the historic moment. All his tries were typically predatory and on the face of it looked simple, but that does a disservice to the wing’s work ethic.
Ashton has changed the face of the sport with his excellence off the ball and the support lines he takes, and the century landmark is just reward for all the work he puts in both on and off the field. The 36-year-old is in a league of his own in terms of his poaching instincts and will go down as one of English rugby’s greats. It’s just a shame that he was never given more caps as 44 seems far too few for a player of his quality.
Tough on Olly Woodburn
Referee Karl Dickson may well have been right in his decision to give the Exeter wing a yellow card and award a penalty try, but if that’s the case then the law needs amending. There wasn’t really much else he could do when Ashton slid towards the line, with the Leicester man set to score until Woodburn, alongside Stuart Hogg, tackled him into touch.
This type of incident has happened several times in the past without it being punished, so it feels rather off that Woodburn was deemed to have done an illegal act in this instance. Either way, going forward, common sense must be applied should a similar case occur in the next weeks, months or years.
Leicester’s stunning Springboks
Jasper Wiese and Handre Pollard once again showed their worth to this Leicester side as they played key roles in the victory over Exeter. Wiese was once again ubiquitous, carrying and tackling to great effect as the Chiefs struggled to contain him. Pollard, meanwhile, dictated the game superbly and showed some lovely touches as the Tigers ripped through Exeter. The fly-half, after a difficult start at the Midlands outfit due to injury, has very much found his feet and is playing some outstanding rugby.
The performances of both those Springboks will obviously delight the Leicester coaches, players and fans but it will also please Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus ahead of the global tournament in France. South Africa still haven’t found the right man for that fly-half shirt in this Rugby World Cup cycle but the return to form of the 29-year-old could just be the answer they were looking for.
Superb from Leicester's Springboks, Jasper Wiese and Handre Pollard. 👏 #GallagherPrem #LEIvEXEpic.twitter.com/IdWZjlHbug
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) April 16, 2023
A step backwards for Exeter
The general consensus was that the Devonians were trending in the right direction after their Champions Cup quarter-final victory over the Stormers, but this was a disappointing display from the Chiefs. Even accounting for the red card and the fact that a few key players were missing from the line-up, they succumbed far too easily.
Plenty of teams have proven that they can win while down a man so that should not be an excuse for why they went down so meekly. There were plenty of signs prior to Woodburn’s dismissal that the dam was about to burst, with the Tigers having the physical ascendency throughout the first half, and the loss of the wing only accelerated that breach. With their play-off hopes now pretty much over, the focus shifts to their Champions Cup last-four contest with La Rochelle, but on this evidence – although a few players will come back in – it looks a nigh on impossible task in Bordeaux.
Saracens and Sale beware
It has not been an easy season for the defending Premiership champions but they are finding form at just the right time and could cause some headaches for Sale and Sarries. Those two have comfortably been the best sides over the course of the campaign and, providing the Sharks get four points from their final couple of matches, will deservedly take the home semi-final spots, but Leicester are improving heading towards the last-four.
Massive credit must go to Richard Wigglesworth, who took over as interim head coach following the departure of Steve Borthwick, and has helped guide them through a rough patch, with this victory over Exeter effectively securing their place in the play-0ffs. They have an excellent set-piece, a big ball-carrying number eight, half-backs who can control the game beautifully and some X-factor in the wider channels. They aren’t quite as good as last season but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them go back-to-back.