Exeter 38 - 15 Newcastle: Manny Feyi-Waboso scores hat-trick in convincing win for Chiefs

It was Exeter Chiefs who would have the brighter start of the two sides and threatened to take an early lead after 6 minutes when Feyi-Waboso and Dan John linked up on the right flank, only for John’s pass towards Ben Hammersley to escape his teammate’s grasp. This wouldn’t matter minutes later when, following a spell of Chiefs pressure, Feyi-Waboso managed to skip free in a central area and cross to score the first try of the afternoon. Henry Slade’s conversion was uncharacteristically missed, and Red Bulls scored a penalty kick through Brett Connon in swift reply.

Any threat of a quick Newcastle response was quickly dampened by Ross Vintcent, his darting run through the Red Bulls defense getting him on the scoresheet for the second game running. The Chiefs took control and began to find some breathing room between themselves and the visitors after Vintcent’s try. A line-out on the Exeter left was flicked on and John found himself in space in a central area. His looping pass picked out Feyi-Waboso, who had the freedom of Sandy Park to notch his second try of the game.

Slade’s missed conversion made it 19-3 after half an hour. Tries for both number twos came before half time, both directly following line-outs on their side’s right wing; Joseph Dweba scoring on debut for the Chiefs, and Newcastle captain George McGuigan at the other end. Both conversions were scored and half time came with Exeter holding a 24-10 lead.

It took 15 minutes of dominance following the restart for Chiefs to score again when Skinner’s forward kick found Feyi-Waboso who scored his third of the afternoon, and fifth try of the season. Changes rolled in for both sides, and Newcastle’s replacements did manage to compete more effectively against the home side, but could do little to stop a sharp interception from Skinner, who stole the ball and was never going to be caught once he was away.

Slade did the honours with the conversion and made it 38-10 going into the closing stages of a rather one-sided game. Alex Hearle scored late on, and after a missed conversion Newcastle huffed and puffed, but it would be far too late to affect the outcome of the match, finishing 38 - 15 to the hosts. The result leaves Chiefs with a win and a draw from their first two games as they look to build on a disappointing 24/25 campaign, and continues Newcastle’s poor run of form as they still hunt for their first points of the season.

EXETER CHIEFS: 38
TRIES: Feyi-Waboso (9’, 27’ 55’), Vintcent (14’), Dweba (34’), Skinner (68’)
CONVERSIONS: Slade (15’, 28’, 56’, 69’)
PENALTIES: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Dan John, 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ben Hammersley, 11. Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10. Harvey Skinner, 9. Steve Varney, 1. Will Goodrick-Clarke, 2. Joseph Dweba, 3. Josh Iosefa-Scott, 4. Daffyd Jenkins ©, 5. Andrea Zambonin, 6. Ethan Roots, 7. Greg Fisilau, 8. Ross Vintcent

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Kwenzo Blose, 18. Bachuki Tchumbadze, 19. Rusi Tuima, 20. Lewis Pearson, 21. Kane James, 22. Charlie Chapman, 23. Nick Lilley

TRIES: McGuigan (37’), Hearle (76’)
CONVERSIONS: Connon (38’)
PENALTIES: Connon (12’)
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
STARTING XV: 15. Liam Williams, 14. Oli Spencer, 13. Connor Doherty, 12. Ethan Grayson, 11. Alex Hearle, 10. Brett Connon, 9. James Elliott, 1. Murray McCallum, 2. George McGuigan, 3. Luan De Bruin, 4. Jamie Hodgson, 5. Freddie Clarke, 6. Cameron Neild, 7. Tom Gordon, 8. Amanaki Mafi

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Ollie Fletcher, 17. Adam Brocklebank, 18. Richard Palframan, 19. Oscar
Usher, 20. Fergus Lee-Warner, 21. Jack Dickens, 22. Boeta Chamberlain, 23. Elliott Obatoyinbo

15. Dan John: 7
Replacing the suspended Josh Hodge, John looked sharp, and stopped a couple of promising
Newcastle moments before setting his side back on the attack in the second half particularly.

14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso: 9
After two tries last week, Feyi-Waboso went one better, and looked a constant threat on the
Chiefs’ right. He repeatedly found space on Newcastle’s flank and was found more often than
not thanks to the quality around him. Rob Baxter labelled him “world class” after the game, and
warned that he still has room to improve, which is an exciting prospect for Chiefs fans

13. Henry Slade: 7
Chiefs’ kicker was tidy on the ball, and some inconsistency on the conversions didn’t have a
major impact on the outcome of the game.

12. Ben Hammersley: 7
Sharp drives forward caused Red Bulls problems throughout the game, but a number of
teammates had a greater impact.

11. Paul Brown-Bampoe: 6
Brown-Bampoe followed up last weeks scoring start with a much quieter game, and looked raw
at times. His main contributions were mazey runs and one particularly poor drop from a
cross-field kick in the first half.

10. Harvey Skinner: 7
Skinner was tidy and scored an opportunistic try in the closing stages of the game, which killed
what little momentum Newcastle had built towards the end of the match.

9. Stephen Varney: 6
A steady home debut from the new boy. One knock on cost his side a promising attack on the
try line, but it wouldn’t be costly in terms of the result.

1. Will Goodrick-Clarke: 7
A key part of a front line that received heavy praise from Baxter following the game,
Goodrick-Clarke was powerful and tidy on the ball, and brought the best out of his teammates.

2. Joseph Dweba: 8
On his home debut, Dweba’s performance is best summed up by the reception he received
when leaving the field. A huge applause met the home debutant, who was tough in the tackle,
ran powerfully and combined it all to score his first Chiefs try just before half-time.

3. Josh Iosefa-Scott: 7
Similarly to his colleagues in the front row, Chiefs’ number 3 was strong and imposing and an
important reason for their dominance throughout.

4. Dafydd Jenkins (C): 7
Jenkins leadership is certainly not to be doubted. His direct contributions were few and far
between, albeit executed well, but a captain should get the best out of those around them and
he undoubtedly did that.

5. Andrea Zambonin: 8
The colossal Italian simply bossed every set piece all afternoon. What he did on the ball was
excellent, but his work in the line-out was crucial in the build up to Dweba’s try.

6. Ethan Roots: 7
A solid showing from the Chiefs 6. Showed fast hands in moments and got stuck into some
physical battles near the Red Bulls try line.

7. Greg Fisilau: 8
Showed his class throughout, particularly at the start of the second half. Chiefs hardly let
Newcastle out of their own half for 15 minutes after the restart, and Fisilau was a key part of that
spell.

8. Ross Vintcent: 8
Also scoring two tries in Chiefs’ previous game, he got on the scoresheet again. His sharp
darting runs caused countless problems for Red Bulls until he was withdrawn after the hour.

Replacements: 6

Newcastle finally grabbed a foothold in the game after the first wave of changes, but the Chief’s
front row stood strong and saw out a comfortable victory.

15. Liam Williams: 6
On his Newcastle debut, Williams was solid but unimpressive. He, much like many of his
teammates struggled largely to impact the game.

14. Oli Spencer: 5
Spencer was relatively anonymous for large parts of the afternoon, as Red Bulls struggled to get
going.

13. Connor Doherty: 5
Doherty made a couple of good runs to relieve the Chiefs second half pressure, but it was too
little too late as the result was wrapped up a long time before he could make an impact.

12. Ethan Grayson: 5
See above, Grayson was quiet and failed to make an impact going forwards.

11. Alex Hearle: 6
After bagging a try last week, Hearle got another for his tally, scoring a tidy try from the right
wing in the closing minutes, but the winger was largely on the fringes of the game.

10. Brett Connon: 6
The Newcastle kicker was consistent from the tee, and made some tidy contributions, only
missing a kick in the dying moments when the game was all but over anyway.

9. James Elliott: 6
Combined with Mafi well in moments to offer his team some respite from the Chiefs onslaught.
Failed to make much of a clinical impact though.

1. Murray McCallum: 6
McCallum struggled against Chiefs’ front row, as did many of his colleagues.

2. George McGuigan (C): 7
A battling performance all in vain from the Red Bulls skipper. He scored a good try before half
time and did as much as he could to stand up to the physical challenge posed by Chiefs’ front
row. Also made a good catch from a poor Jack Yeandle kick to start the move leading up to
Hearle’s try.

3. Luan De Bruin: 6
Forced off early through injury after just 12 minutes, Newcastle were competitive in the opening
minutes before he was withdrawn.

4. Jamie Hodgson: 5
Hodgson went missing for large parts of this game, he and Clarke’s opposite numbers
outshining them with impressive performances.

5. Freddie Clarke: 5
Clarke followed up a scoring opening week with a quiet afternoon, and much like Hodgson,
struggled to get a foothold in this game.

6. Cameron Neild: 5
Neild was bypassed by much of the play, and always faced a tough afternoon against such an
imposing set of Chiefs forwards.

7. Tom Gordon: 5
Like many of his teammates, Gordon struggled defensively, and with so little of the ball, never
really had an opportunity to make strides in attack.

8. Amanaki Mafi: 7
Mafi was Newcastle’s man if anyone ever looked likely to spark a comeback. He battled away all
afternoon and had moments of quality when looking to run forward and get his team up the field.

Replacements: 6
Newcastle’s replacements around the 60 minute mark coincided with them gaining some yards
and finally putting Chiefs under a bit of pressure. Obatoyinbo stood out replacing Williams, and
some good drop kicks along the left touchline were awkward for Chiefs in the last 10 minutes of
the game