Exeter blow Saracens away

PREMIERSHIP WRAP: Exeter Chiefs made an emphatic start to their Premiership campaign with a 65-10 win over Saracens at Sandy Park on Saturday.

The Chiefs outscored their opponents by 11 tries to two during the 80 minutes.

In Saturday’s other games, Bath beat Newcastle Falcons 34-26, while Gloucester edged Harlequins 29-28.

On Friday, Bristol Bears were too good for Leicester Tigers in a 25-14 win.

The new and youthful Exeter Chiefs were quickly into their attacking stride and scored in the first minute against Sarries, wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso finishing off a slick home attack when he raced onto an audacious pass from Harvey Skinner down the right flank.

Moments later and with Sarries skipper Alex Lozowski in the sin-bin, the Chiefs struck again, No.8 Greg Fisilau attaching himself to the back of a close-range line-out to double the lead.

Saracens were seemingly all at sea, struggling to contain the relentless waves of Exeter attacks. Debutant Ethan Roots bagged a third try, picking up from a few metres out, before Tom Hendrickson brought up the bonus point when he was given the pass from Henry Slade, who had latched onto a clever chip over the top from Tom Cairns.

England international Slade then got in on the try-scoring act himself, picking off a pass in midfield to race clear from halfway and extend his side’s lead to 29-0.

There was no let-up from Rob Baxter’s side as they headed towards the break, Josh Hodge helping himself to a quickfire double – the second after breaking four tackles on the end of a scintillating cross-field move.

The break could not have come at a better time for Saracens and they used the respite as the opportunity to not only regroup, but fathom out a new game plan for the second half.

Whatever was said, it initially had the desired effect as replacement Andy Christie and Alex Lewington combined nicely to send Olly Hartley cantering down the left wing for the score.

It was the spark Saracens had craved, but the Chiefs were soon back on the offensive themselves. Fisilau was held up on the line but Hodge soon claimed his hat-trick score with a jet-propelled burst from deep inside his own half.

Not content with that, the Chiefs continued to pile forward in numbers, bullying Saracens into submission with a brutal assault from all angles. The home pack did much of the donkey work, easing them to within sight of the line, the fruits of which were finished off by Rus Tuima.

To their credit, Saracens refused to throw in the towel, picking themselves off the floor to land a late blow of their own through Scotland international Sean Maitland. It was, however, a little too late in the grand scheme of things.

Indeed, it was the home side who would put the shine on a polished performance, bagging two more tries in the dying embers through replacements Ross Vintcent and Niall Armstrong.

Saturday, October 14:

Exeter Chiefs 65-10 Saracens

The scorers:

For Exeter:
Tries: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Greg Fisilau, Ethan Roots, Tom Hendrickson, Henry Slade, Josh Hodge 3, Rus Tuima, Ross Vintcent, Niall Armstrong
Cons: Henry Slade 4, Harvey Skinner

For Saracens:
Tries: Olly Hartley, Sean Maitland

Yellow cards: Alex Lozowski (Saracens, 5′); Aled Davies (Saracens, 22′)

Bath 34-26 Newcastle Falcons

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Alfie Barbeary, Ben Spencer, Cameron Redpath, Ben Spencer 2, Will Muir
Cons: Spencer 2

For Newcastle:
Tries: Matias Orlando, Ben Stevenson, Jamie Blamire
Con: Brett Connon
Pens: Connon 3

Yellow cards: Ben Stevenson (Newcastle, 10′); Rory Jennings (Newcastle, 56′)

Gloucester 29-28 Harlequins

The scorers:

For Gloucester:
Tries: Arthur Clark, George McGuigan, Lewis Ludlow, Jamal Ford-Robinson
Cons: George Barton 3
Pen: Barton

For Harlequins:
Tries: Alex Dombrandt, Will Evans, Luke Northmore
Cons: Will Edwards 2
Pens: Jarrod Evans 3

Yellow card: Jarrod Evans (Harlequins, 79′)

Friday, October 13:

Bristol Bears 25-14 Leicester Tigers

The scorers:

For Bristol:
Tries: Gabriel Ibitoye 2, Harry Thacker
Cons: AJ MacGinty 2
Pens: James Williams 2

For Leicester:
Tries: Dan Kelly, Hanro Liebenberg
Cons: Charlie Atkinson, Jamie Shillcock

Source: PA