Exeter Chiefs
PRC: Exeter Chiefs v Bristol Bears
By thechiefstribe.com
November 18 2025
TEAMS, MATCH INFORMATION, PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION THREAD AND SCORE PREDICTIONS
Please post your score predictions in this thread
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Discussion started by thechiefstribe.com (IP Logged), 21/11/2025 10:15
21/11/2025 10:15
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Exeter Chiefs:
15 Dan John
14 Paul Brown-Bampoe
13 Ollie Batson
12 Will Rigg
11 Campbell Ridl
10 Will Haydon-Wood
9 Tom Cairns
1 Ethan Burger
2 Louie Gulley (c)
3 Bachuki Tchumbadze
4 Lewis Pearson
5 Rusi Tuima
6 Joe Bailey
7 Martin Moloney
8 Richard Capstick
Replacements:
16 Julian Heaven
17 Khwezi Mona
18 Jimmy Roots
19 Oscar Beckerleg
20 Finn Worley Brady
21 Charlie Chapman
22 Ben Coen
23 Harry Ascherl
15 Dan John
14 Paul Brown-Bampoe
13 Ollie Batson
12 Will Rigg
11 Campbell Ridl
10 Will Haydon-Wood
9 Tom Cairns
1 Ethan Burger
2 Louie Gulley (c)
3 Bachuki Tchumbadze
4 Lewis Pearson
5 Rusi Tuima
6 Joe Bailey
7 Martin Moloney
8 Richard Capstick
Replacements:
16 Julian Heaven
17 Khwezi Mona
18 Jimmy Roots
19 Oscar Beckerleg
20 Finn Worley Brady
21 Charlie Chapman
22 Ben Coen
23 Harry Ascherl
Bristol Bears
15. Noah Heward
14. Jack Bates
13. Victor Worsnip
12. James Williams
11. Aidan Boshoff
10. Sam Worsley
9. Sam Wolstenholme
1. Max Lahiff
2. Harry Thacker (139 apps),
3. Lovejoy Chawatama
4. Ethan Surrey
5. Steele Barker
6. George Taylor
7. Kenzie Jenkins
8. John Edwards
Replacements:
16. Tomas Gwilliam
17. Louie Trevett
18. Jimmy Halliwell
19. Will Ramply
29. Sam Grahamslaw
21. Ellis Bevan
22. Mat Protheroe
23. Evan Morris
15. Noah Heward
14. Jack Bates
13. Victor Worsnip
12. James Williams
11. Aidan Boshoff
10. Sam Worsley
9. Sam Wolstenholme
1. Max Lahiff
2. Harry Thacker (139 apps),
3. Lovejoy Chawatama
4. Ethan Surrey
5. Steele Barker
6. George Taylor
7. Kenzie Jenkins
8. John Edwards
Replacements:
16. Tomas Gwilliam
17. Louie Trevett
18. Jimmy Halliwell
19. Will Ramply
29. Sam Grahamslaw
21. Ellis Bevan
22. Mat Protheroe
23. Evan Morris
The Bears side includes 11 academy players as well as some serious experience with Lahiff and Thacker. I think we could win this, Chiefs 29 - 21 Bears.
Weather Forecast as at 1200 Friday
Light Rain and a gentle breeze from the west south west
Temperature 11 degrees will feel like 9 degrees
Chance of Precipitation
Light Rain and a gentle breeze from the west south west
Temperature 11 degrees will feel like 9 degrees
Chance of Precipitation
Be interesting
Good to see squads being utilised and particularly the young Chiefs with potential- of course we want the win but just want to see the boys give it their all
Good to see squads being utilised and particularly the young Chiefs with potential- of course we want the win but just want to see the boys give it their all
Both clubs taking the right approach, should be a good game. Im going for a high scoring narrow Chiefs win 35 - 27
No Idea what will happen - fancy PB-B to score if he gets the ball I think we should win this comfortably. Perhaps Bears forced to field so many academy players with injuries and need not risk more of remaining first team. There is more experience in our squad but pleased for the rotation. Chiefs 48 Bears 19
Looking forward to seeing the centre pairing of Rigg and Batson - really want the former to get back into the first team. It'll be close - as it so often is with Briz - but I think we can do this at home, with loud support!
Chiefs 27: Briz 24
In Rob we trust.
By the way - cream on first. There's nothing to debate.
Chiefs 27: Briz 24
In Rob we trust.
By the way - cream on first. There's nothing to debate.
It’s really hard to judge when you’re faced with two teams of relatively unknown youngsters and newcomers. I’m hoping WHW has his kicking boots on, so I’ll go with home advantage:
Chiefs 29; Bristol 24
Chiefs 29; Bristol 24
Impossible to predict imo. But I'm sure some of our youngsters will be desperate to impress and hope advantage must surely help.
I'm going 36 chiefs 23 Bris. If I get close I'll obviously claim otherwise, but this is a totally uninformed guess.
I'm going 36 chiefs 23 Bris. If I get close I'll obviously claim otherwise, but this is a totally uninformed guess.
I'd agree this is a tough one to predict. I'm going against the grain and picking a briz win Chiefs 19 Bris 24. I forgot to put in a prediction last week and missed out on some easy points, a sale win was a pretty obvious outcome, so I'm going double or quits this week!!
Chiefs 22 Bears 15
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:11:22:13:22:30 by Currychef.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:11:22:13:22:30 by Currychef.
it looked like we were doing our best to throw it away in the final 15 minutes as we gave away a series of silly penalties, but thankfully we held on. It was worth going to the match just to see Martin Moloney's miraculous steal as he emerged from a maul on our try line and Campbell Ridl's brilliant finish (we'll overlook the forward pass...) Wasn't it nice to have a game without a TMO interrupting play every five minutes?! I thought Ridl had an excellent game, whilst on the other wing I felt as though Paul B-B was playing somewhat cautiously - we never really saw him all guns blazing. Cairns' kicking was a bit hit and miss, but it was good to see Will Rigg running some hard lines again. Our defensive organisation and urgency are transformed compared to last year, but I lost count of how many lineouts we butchered. If we go to Sale next Friday and emulate that lineout performance we're going to be in big trouble!
the good new was we won but it was a pretty dire game of rugby. I lost count of the kicking with little thought We even kicked on their 10 yard line with a huge overlap after a good Tuima break. I am afraid we were dreadfully slow from the base of a maul and often passed to a stationary pod of forwards. PBB was quiet IMO because the ball never reached the wing and when he went looking for it rarely received a pass. That was just the rugby! The music even appeared as Bristol were lining up a kick at goal and waiting for the lineoutsj. The turnout was reported at !1,000 + not sure where they all were and the scoreboard was on strike. Sorry but I felt it was a hard watch.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:11:22:21:10:36 by cornwallchief.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:11:22:21:10:36 by cornwallchief.
A win yes but a dreadful watch with a game plan ( I assume coaches) of kick every possession away wherever on the pitch , badly on numerous occasions with our half backs having v poor games imo. We ran the ball and scored a good try inside two minutes, great work from Rigg. From there on our 9 and 10 kicked everything away with our backs totally starved of any attacking ball - why?
Our recruitment of having just two specialist locks in the club in Zambonin and Jenkins shows up when they don’t feature our line out is a total shambles without them. Today we again lost probably 50% of our own line outs. I don’t think any of our back 5 forwards put their hands up for premiership selection. Why was Coen not brought on surely this is the game he should be featuring for development.
On the plus side well done Ridl and Gulley on their first tries for the club on debut, the former had a v good game. A good crowd today at 11k, not sure many of them left feeling entertained.
Our recruitment of having just two specialist locks in the club in Zambonin and Jenkins shows up when they don’t feature our line out is a total shambles without them. Today we again lost probably 50% of our own line outs. I don’t think any of our back 5 forwards put their hands up for premiership selection. Why was Coen not brought on surely this is the game he should be featuring for development.
On the plus side well done Ridl and Gulley on their first tries for the club on debut, the former had a v good game. A good crowd today at 11k, not sure many of them left feeling entertained.
Hi Andy 15.1 agree about the quality of our tactics and half backs. The line out was especially odd to lose so many with Capstick who can be lifted and is a useful line out player standing out of the line outs for much of the match thereby reducing a lot of our choices as to who to throw to. Coen is obviously not going to get game time with any frequency and suspect he may vote with his feet without us ever knowing whether is/or will be good enough to start in the poem.
I couldn't get to the match but was talking to a neighbour who went. I won't repeat his immediate response to my question of 'how was it?' but it wasn't complementary. He followed it up, though, by saying that he thought it was partly because of the lack of the A league - none of these guys are playing regular rugby together and the odd match in the international windows simply isn't sufficient for them to get experience. The prem season is too short to experiment. I don't really understand why teams don't arrange 'friendlies' for their 2nd string players; if some don't want to take part they can always decline.
The.problem is a lot of clubs have small squads and are loathe to risk injuries to back up players.
Quote:Lowerwatha
The.problem is a lot of clubs have small squads and are loathe to risk injuries to back up players.
Or they've adapted to the reduced fixtures/lack of A league and have cut their squad sizes accordingly to suit, whereas we've still got 60+ players on contract (per the squad shown on the club website)?
It wasn't a good watch yesterday, though we at lesat got a win. I was surprised we didn't go for the bonus point at the end, opting instead to kick out and secure the win despite being on their 5 metre. I know our lineout was terrible all day but that seemed a very un-Chiefs like thing to do.
Agree with the comments around the half backs, Cairns looked to be stuck on last years playbook of be slow and kick the ball away. I'm guessing he started because we may need Chapman next week as Varney picked up a rib injury with Italy last week.
Quote:Lowerwatha
The.problem is a lot of clubs have small squads and are loathe to risk injuries to back up players.
... And then have the same/similar players playing every game! That really can't be good. The A League should be reintroduced for those that want it. I'm sure the benefits would result in it being fully subscribed again.
I too was amazed we threw away a bonus point opportunity at the close. We might live to regret that.
In Rob we trust.
By the way - cream on first. There's nothing to debate.
Even if it is impossible to revive the A league, I'd still like to see some midweek exhibition matches arranged for the acadamy or second string boys.
The marines, police, Fire Brigade, club vets, any international touring sides, etc etc.
I'm sure could be marketed so that they at least wash their face financially.
The marines, police, Fire Brigade, club vets, any international touring sides, etc etc.
I'm sure could be marketed so that they at least wash their face financially.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025:11:24:16:04:31 by ouch!_that_hurts.
With regards to the half backs, I went to watch the Sale game last week and the two that played there were awful, hence why I would suggest they were 'dropped' for this week although this doesn't provide any consistency or game time for either with Cairns last game probably being some months ago.. 9/10 need to be playing regularly which is the problem and perhaps a few more need to go out on loan although as a loan club not sure how this would benefit knowing they could eb called back to Chiefs at any time.
I'm not sure how many are "out on loan" at present and how many of those are getting regular game time. At Plymouth Albion Iwan Jenkins has displaced the original starting 10 and is making a good fist of it. Beckerleg has been picked in the 2nd row but was called back for the Bristol game. Difficult balancing act!
As we discovered last year, it’s very difficult for a 9/10 combo to shine behind a pack that’s going backwards. I haven’t been able to see last week’s game against Sale, but by all accounts our pack was getting pretty comprehensively beaten up. Ben Coen has had the luxury of a dominant pack in most of his U20 games, and we saw him struggle last season when the pack wasn’t going forward. Hopefully he’s learning something from the experience!
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