Symons Blow

By MG
November 21 2020

A powerful final quarter from the juggernaut that is Exeter Chiefs condemned us to a depressing 33-3 home defeat in the very first game of the new Gallagher Premiership. Things can only get  better ...

The Chiefs' machine is all electric. They have can turn on real power in an instant and it's all built on a well-engineered chassis.

By comparison we failed to fire on all cylinders despite battling hard for the first 60 minutes when we didn't have the territory. We did have the guts and organisation to keep out a side for which the Simmonds brothers were tremendous. By rights they shouldn't have been playing- they should have been with Eddie Jones' boys.

We did have the honour of getting the first score of the new season. Marcus Smith had already missed an easy shot but was on the mark with a penalty to give us the lead.

We lost Matt Symons to a knee injury as he landed badly and things went slowly went downhill  as the fly half Simonds sent the No 8 Simonds away on a run from the half-way which would have been the envy of every full back. He can shift for a big lad.

But we were still giving as good as we got and only down four points at the break.

Ewers did score from  a driving maul from a five-metre line-out but we think we should have been back in it when Luke Northmore went over only for referee Christophe Ridley to rule it out for crossing by Alex Dombrandt which was said to have impeded Chiefs' centre Whitten.

A score might, just might, have changed the game. Instead,  Simmonds'  hat-trick score got the bonus point and replacement scrum-half Townsend finished off with the Chiefs' fifth.

Early season and plenty of time to learn lessons.