Exeter 39-12 Gloucester: Henry Slade bags 1000th career point as Chiefs shut-out Cherry & Whites

Saturday’s challengers posed a different question to Quins, but like every other visitor to Devon this season, were unable to put an end to Chiefs’ excellent home form.

It was a lively start for both sides, with Chiefs taking the lead after just four minutes. Rusi Tuima took control from a line out, and Joseph Dweba was on hand to force the ball over the line. Henry Slade started as he meant to go on from the tee and fired his side into an early 7-0 lead.

This wouldn’t last long however, and Gloucester replied in some style. Jack Cotgreave took the ball in a central area and drove across the Chiefs line. He escaped the defence and handed off to skipper Tomos Williams, who found Will Joseph to finish off a sharp attacking move. Ross Byrne’s conversion levelled the scoring early on.

Exeter landed the next telling blow, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was involved as he has been so many times already this season. A high catch from the Chiefs number 14 gave Slade the room to score for the second week running, and his ever-reliable kicking made it 14-7 to the home side.

This also took Slade onto 999 all time points for Exter Chiefs, and it seemed inevitable that he would break the big 1000 this afternoon. Feyi-Waboso wouldn’t have to wait long for a try of his own, and he continued his flying start to the season when Ollie Woodburn and Len Ikitau showed some quick hands to release him on the right wing. Yet another kick made it 21-7 to Rob Baxters men after the first 20 minutes of this game.

Wales man Freddie Thomas would get himself on the scoresheet for Gloucester after an excellent Feyi-Waboso tackle proved to be in vain, but Byrne couldn’t replicate his first kick leaving it at 21-12 to the hosts. Greg Fisilau would win a penalty which was sent through the posts by Slade, and a mazy run from Ikitau would present Iosefa-Scott with the chance to cross, only for his try to be disallowed for a forward pass in the build-up. One more penalty goal from Slade on the stroke of half time gave Chiefs a 27-12 lead at the break.

After the restart, Gloucester threatened a fight back. For 20 minutes, they piled the pressure onto Chiefs and with every penalty sent into touch, Exeter lost the line-out and were pushed back again. Cherry and Whites number five Matias Alemanno was dominant in the air and drove his team close to the try line, but they couldn’t force the ball over.

Eventually, after enduring a long spell in their own territory, Baxter’s side forced their way up the field, and the game became a real scrap along the Gloucester 22-metre line. A refreshed Exeter front row battled and got their rewards when Josh Hodge’s kick reached Slade on the left wing, whose grubber kick opened up the Gloucester defence. The Chiefs kicker latched onto the ball and drove over the line to score his second of the game, before being withdrawn to a standing ovation.

The afternoon wasn’t quite over yet, and after having one disallowed by TMO, replacement Jack Yeandle powered in to wrap up the points for the Devon side following a line out, sealing a 39-12 victory for the hosts after Hodge’s conversion. Continuing their unbeaten start at home, Chiefs secured their first back-to-back Premiership wins for 18 months and found themselves third in the table after round five.

TRIES: 5 (Dweba 4’, Slade 14’, 69’, Feyi-Waboso 17’, Yeandle 79’)

CONVERSIONS: 4 (Slade 5’, 15’, 18’, Hodge 80’)

PENALTIES: 2 (Slade 31’, 42’)

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

STARTING XV: 15. Josh Hodge 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 13. Henry Slade 12. Len Ikitau 11. Ollie Woodburn 10. Harvey Skinner 9. Stephen Varney 1. Scott Sio 2. Joseph Dweba 3. Josh Iosefa-Scott 4. Dafydd Jenkins 5. Rusi Tuima 6. Tom Hooper 7. Ethan Roots 8. Greg Fisilau

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Jack Yeandle 17. Ethan Burger 18. Bachuki Tchumbadze 19. Andrea Zambonin 20. Kane James 21. Charlie Chapman 22. Will Haydon-Wood 23. Ben Hammersley

TRIES: 2 (Joseph 6’, Thomas 24’)

PENALTIES: 0

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

STARTING XV: 15. Charlie Atkinson 14. Ben Redshaw 13. Will Joseph 12. Max Llewellyn 11. Jack Cotgreave 10. Ross Byrne 9. Tomos Williams (C) 1. Ciaran Knight 2. Seb Blake 3. Nepo Laulala 4. Freddie Thomas 5. Matias Alemanno 6. Josh Basham 7. James Venter 8. Hugh Bokenham

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Jack Innard 17. Dian Bleuler 18. Afo Fasogbon 19. Cam Jordan 20. Jack Mann 21. Caolan Englefield 22. George Barton 23. Will Knight

With 9 England caps already to his name, the 22-year-old will no doubt be in Steve Borthwick’s plans for the Autumn internationals. Another try against Gloucester will have done his chances no harm, and his ability under the high ball was on show throughout this match. The winger has had a blistering start to the campaign, and is showing no signs of slowing down, which can only be a good thing for the Red Roses.

The Chiefs skipper has been named in the Welsh squad already for the autumn internationals and proved his quality here once again. Ever imposing, he was tough in the tackle and powerful in the air. His ability is already well known by Welsh fans, and he will be a particularly useful player for Steve Tandy over the international schedule.

After a stunning performance last week in Chiefs’ 38-0 thumping of Harlequins, Slade has already earned himself a spot in Steve Borthwick’s 36-man training squad. He justified that decision in round 5 with another classy display. Two tries and near perfect kicking proved that Slade is back near his best in a Chiefs shirt, and he will surely have caught the attention of Borthwick and his team over the past few weeks.

Having represented Wales at youth level, Llewellyn is well established in his national team with 5 caps to his name. He looked tidy at Sandy Park, where Gloucester put together some slick passing sequences, often with the Welshman at the heart of them. He will be giving Tandy some selection headaches for sure, as he looks for his starting man in the middle of the park.

Thomas took his try opportunistically on Saturday afternoon and was a standout in a poor performance from the Cherry and Whites. Named in Tandy’s squad this week, he will be looking to impress after only recently making a name for himself on the international stage. He and his number 5 Matias Alemanno were key as Gloucester piled the pressure on the hosts, and in moments he showed that he could be a useful player for the Dragons this Autumn.

An electric start to the season sees Chiefs third in the Premiership table. With players like Feyi-Waboso and Slade finding their form at the same time, could this year be their chance to finally climb back up the table after last season’s disappointment? Their home form will certainly help, and summer recruits like Joseph Dweba and Len Ikitau look to have brought a new dimension to the starting XV at Sandy Park.

Matias Alemanno was a massive thorn in the side of Exeter Chiefs throughout this contest, and most good things Gloucester did in the early stages of the second half came through him. It wasn’t until Zambonin took to the field that Chiefs could compete with his dominance in the air. The pace that George Skivington’s men shifted the ball out of the set play situations was difficult to keep up with at times, and although Chiefs stood strong, it would not be a surprise if some sides struggle to get to grips with it this season.

Slade was once again at the heart of the Exeter machine on Saturday afternoon. He dictated things for his team, and showed real finesse to score his second try, kicking along the floor before outpacing his defender to cross in style. His form will be encouraging for the upcoming internationals, but Chiefs fans must be hoping he can come back to Devon unscathed and keep his run going.

Following a fifth-place finish last season, many would have tipped Gloucester to push on this term and earn themselves a place in the play-offs. That already seems a long way off and sitting in ninth without a win from their first 5, encouraging performances aren’t quite enough at this moment in time. A home fixture against Harlequins at the end of November will be their next opportunity to put things right, before a trip to Leicester Tigers, by which point questions will be being asked should they still be without a first win of the season.

With three bonus point wins from three home games this season so far, Exeter Chiefs look a really solid outfit in front of their home crowd. Scoring 38, 39 and 38 across the matches, they are scoring freely and limiting their opponents at the other end, conceding just 27 points at Sandy Park all season. The challenge to Baxter’s side is simply to see how long they can keep this up.