Amid the current gushing torrent of Prem tries here was a reminder that winning still trumps all else. Exeter finally have their first relieving victory of the campaign but there were times when it seemed Newcastle might conceivably secure a first away league success in almost four years. In the event the Red Bulls fell just short despite Christian Wade running in a hat-trick to become only the second player ever to score 100 top-tier tries.
Exeter will be suitably relieved to have edged a curate’s egg of a contest, ultimately made safe by a late try from their Georgian prop Bachuki Tchumbadze. The Chiefs’ Italian international back-rower Ross Vintcent also contributed two first-quarter tries to steal some of the prolific Wade’s thunder. The 35-year-old retains a poacher’s instinct and is now closing in fast – in every sense – on Chris Ashton’s all-time Prem career haul of 101.
A game of nine tries, slightly below average for this season, was also notable for a promising debut display from 18-year-old Jake Dalziel, the youngest player to represent Newcastle in the Prem, and the premature departure of England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso with a tweaked hamstring. “I don’t think it’s a catastrophe but he said he doesn’t feel right,” said Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby. “It’s more of a concern than a long-term worry.”
The same, for now, applies to the meagre attendance of 7,071 on a grey but relatively mild afternoon. This week Exeter slashed ticket prices in most categories between now and Christmas and still there were thousands of empty seats around the ground. The quality of the product matters but so, increasingly, does value for money in these difficult economic days.
For the first time in recent years for a league fixture here there was not a soul on the North Terrace behind the posts, a real sign of the times. Just 8,682 showed up for Exeter’s opening weekend West Country derby against Gloucester and here a stadium with a maximum capacity of 15,000 was more than half empty.
There are plenty of other outdoor activities available in Devon at this time of year but, otherwise, people are either preferring to watch from the comfort of their own sofas, save up for Christmas or they’re not overly bothered. Which, given Chiefs made the Prem final in June, is a concerning state of affairs for all involved in marketing and selling the professional game.
Those who did turn up, however, were treated to an eventful tussle with five tries in the opening quarter alone. The eager Vintcent collected two of them, the first inside 40 seconds after a chargedown with the help of a (legal) headed assist. Wade was also productively busy, running in an easy first and then unselfishly releasing Max Hicks for a second in the same right corner.
Quick Guide Gilmore happy despite Harlequins’ defeat by Sale
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Jason Gilmore claimed his Harlequins side restored pride despite a third successive loss of the Prem campaign against Sale in Salford.
The Sharks snatched a 28-24 win with a 73rd-minute penalty try after they had been outplayed for long periods by a Quins side smarting from last weekend’s 48-0 humiliation against Gloucester.
“It’s disappointing. We probably created three chances in the first half which we didn’t take which came back to bite us,” said the Harlequins head coach. “Fair play to Sale. They got themselves back into the game with their set piece but I’m really proud of the boys’ efforts up here.
“Two bonus points on the road up here is, I wouldn’t say pleasing, but I’m just happy for the boys that they got some reward out of their work. If you’re prepared to go to dark places for us and win those collisions, then you’re going to get selected. If you’re dipping your toe in one week and then not the next, then we can’t tolerate that.
“You can’t be up one week and then down the next week like we had last week. Performance will dictate the shirts.”
Marcus Smith impressed with two tries on his return after injury and Harlequins hooker Sam Riley also touched down twice.
But Sale, who trailed 17-14 at the break, fought back with Ben Bamber adding to first-half tries from Elia Canakaivata and Gus Warr before the decisive late penalty try.
Hicks is an interesting arrival in the Prem, having grown up near Ethan Roots in New Zealand and even worked on the same building site as his opposite number. He is also English qualified as is the Red Bulls No 8 Hoskins Sotutu, which helps explain why the national head coach Steve Borthwick had made the trip to Devon.
With the autumn block of the Nations Championship just around the corner this was a timely moment, therefore, for Henry Slade to slice through a big gap behind Werner Kok and score from 40 metres out. The centre also converted his own score from wide out but it was still the visitors who led at the interval.
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Having lost Roots to the sin-bin for a no-arms tackle on Harrison Obatoyinbo, the Red Bulls now had the youthful Dalziel pulling the strings and the teenager’s beautiful offload outside to Sammy Arnold created the platform for Wade to accelerate away for his second. Dalziel, the son of the British & Irish Lions assistant coach John Dalziel, is highly rated in Scotland and looks to have an extremely promising top-level future.
After a stern half-time lecture from Baxter about their lack of defensive energy, Exeter appeared to revive slightly and the former Bath full-back Sam Harris, on his Chiefs Prem debut, finished off a sharp blindside break from Stephen Varney. Unfortunately for the hosts, two misjudgments from Slade then muddied the waters, a loose offload allowing Wade to pounce for a third time and a midfield forward pass causing a potential try for Varney to be scrubbed out by the television match official.
Instead it required a fine long-range penalty into the wind with 16 minutes remaining by Slade to nudge the Chiefs back in front before Tchumbadze rumbled over from close range. Those who had paid to attend were suitably grateful, though whether this performance frightens their next opponents Toulouse, the French Top 14 champions, is another matter. The likely unavailability of Feyi-Waboso will make it an even tougher assignment although Chiefs do now have their forceful Wallaby back-row forward Tom Hooper back for this weekend’s opening Champions Cup weekend.
