Bok hooker Dweba gets off the mark in England
SATURDAY WRAP: England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored a hat-trick of tries as Exeter got their home campaign off to a fine start with a 38-15 bonus-point victory over Newcastle.
It took his tally to five in two matches since his return from a hamstring injury and is an excellent boost for England head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of the forthcoming autumn internationals.
Newcastle made changes to their management structure during the week, including promoting Alan Dickens from senior coach to head coach, with director of rugby Steve Diamond leaving the club.
However, it was the same old story on the field as the Red Bulls were largely swept away by a team who finished one place above them at the foot of last season’s table.
Chiefs picked up where they left off in their impressive second-half showing at Northampton last Sunday, and had a try bonus point in the bag after only 35 minutes.
After Henry Slade and Ben Hammersley had butchered a clear two-on-one opportunity down the right-hand touchline, Feyi-Waboso went in for the game’s opening try after only 10 minutes.
Five minutes later, another of Exeter’s two-try heroes at Franklin’s Gardens, Italian international No.8 Ross Vintcent, galloped in unopposed after gathering a loose ball.
In between those two touchdowns, Red Bulls flyhalf Brett Connon slotted a penalty, but the visitors were soon under the cosh again.
Wing Paul Brown-Bampoe dropped a fine crossfield kick by Harvey Skinner with the line at his mercy, but Exeter remained camped on the Newcastle line, and Skinner tried again, this time with a long pass, which sent Feyi-Waboso in for his second try of the afternoon, with Slade adding his second conversion.
South African hooker Joseph Dweba forced his way over from a catch-and-drive for his first Prem try to register Exeter’s bonus-point score to put Chiefs firmly in the driving seat at 24-3 up.
However, Newcastle gave themselves a glimmer of hope right on the stroke of half-time when skipper George McGuigan was on the end of their own driving maul, and Connon added an excellent conversion.
The second half was largely uneventful until Skinner’s crossfield kick found Feyi-Waboso in acres of space to cross the line and run in towards the posts, with Slade converting to put the game almost out of Newcastle’s reach at 31-10.
Exeter suffered a blow in the 67th minute when South African prop Kwenzo Blose had to be helped off the pitch with a leg injury only nine minutes after taking to the field.
Skinner scored the try his performance deserved when he broke away and dotted down under the posts for a sixth of the game for Chiefs, for whom England Under-20 back rower Greg Fisilau was outstanding.
Newcastle, though, managed a late consolation through Alex Hearle to give the scoreline a touch more respectability.
*In Saturday’s other matches, a flurry of second-half tries saw Leicester stage a remarkable fightback to open their home campaign with a 29-19 victory over Harlequins.
Meanwhile, Owen Farrell made a triumphant return to StoneX Stadium but it was the rampaging Tom Willis who starred in Saracens’ 50-17 Prem victory over Bristol.
See below for Saturday’s scores and scorers!
Exeter 38-15 Newcastle
The scorers:
For Exeter:
Tries: Feyi-Waboso 3, Vintcent, Dweba, Skinner
Cons: Slade 4
For Newcastle:
Tries: McGuigan, Hearle
Con: Connon
Pen: Connon
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Dan John, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Hammersley, 11 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Greg Fisilau, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (captain), 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke.
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.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Ethan Grayson, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Brett Connon, 9 James Elliott, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Freddie Clarke, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 George McGuigan (captain), 1 Murray McCallum.
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.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant Referees: Mike Hudson and Neil Chivers
TMO: Luke Pearce
Leicester 29-19 Harlequins
The scorers:
For Leicester:
Tries: Wand 2, van Poortvliet, Hassell-Collins
Cons: Searle 3
Pens: Searle
For Harlequins:
Try: Porter
Con: J Evans
Pens: J Evans 4
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Solomone Kata, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Ollie Hassell Collins, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Emeka Ilione, 6 Joaquin Moro, 5 Ollie Chessum (captain), 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Charlie Clare, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Jamie Blamire, 17 Archie van der Flier, 18 Will Hurd, 19 James Thompson, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Will Wand.
Harlequins: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Nick David, 13 Oscar Beard, 12 Jamie Benson, 11 Cassius Cleaves, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Will Porter, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain), 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Chandler Cunningham-South, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Walker, 1 Fin Baxter.
Replacements: 16 Sam Riley, 17 Simon Kerrod, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Jonny Green, 20 Zach Carr, 21 Max Green, 22 Sean Kerr, 23 Cameron Anderson.
Referee: Hamish Smales
Assistant Referees: Joe James and Jonathan Healy
TMO: Peter Allan
Saracens 50-17 Bristol
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Dan, Isiekwe, Malins, Tompkins, Bracken 2, Tizard
Cons: Farrell 6
Pen: Farrell
For Bristol:
Tries: Marmion 3
Con: Worsley
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Max Malins, 14 Jack Bracken, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Fergus Burke, 9 Ivan Van Zyl (captain), 8 Tom Willis, 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 6 Nick Isiekwe, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Harry Wilson, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Rhys Carre.
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Olamide Sodeke, 20 Charlie West, 21 Charlie Bracken, 22 Cameron Hutchison, 23 Noah Caluori.
Bristol Bears: 15 Josh Carrington, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Joe Jenkins, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luka Ivanishvili, 6 Joe Owen, 5 Joe Batley, 4 James Dun, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Jake Woolmore (captain).
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 George Kloska, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Ben Grondona, 21 Max Pepper, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Aidan Boshoff.
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Daniel Jones and Gareth Holsgrove
TMO: Stuart Terheege
