Exmouth 29 - 10 Exeter Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs came to Exmouth determined to make amends for their loss at home and for the first 15 minutes there was little in it. Both sets of forwards were even in the scrum and only in the line out did Exmouth show more consistency. Gradually Exmouth began to show their class and put some pressure on the visitors resulting in some strong forward play culminating in a try for Exmouth Prop Ben Holloway. Uncharacteristically Tom Steer missed a reasonable chance at a conversion.

This temporarily opened up the flood gates for Exmouth and Alfie Valentine and Paul Bright went over in quick succession to open up a good lead, with Tom converting one of the tries.

The visitors did not lose heart and were rewarded with a try just before half time. This meant that Exmouth went into the second half with a 17 – 5 lead and were immediately under pressure from Exeter but were able to limit the damage to another unconverted try.

There was a lot of open play and some good runs from both teams but each time the defence was equal to the challenge and it was not until the 4th quarter that Exmouth began to show their strength and after a couple of changes in players were quickly on the ascendancy with another two tries. Paul went over in the left corner and Tom Steer’s sole effort saw him change direction and run through much of the opposition who were unable to match his pace. He touched down under the post to allow Ed Wright to convert.

It was a very entertaining match with some really strong team play with the forwards ensuring the home team had good ball to allow the backs the opportunity to run. There is still some work to do but on the whole a much improved performance on the previous week. It is difficult to single out any particular player but Jack Stuart, as Captain, led the team well with some significant tackles.