By Adrian Laws
February 27 2011

Okay, I’m going to have to keep this quite brief and give you a broad outline of events. Sadly, my position in the ground – far off to the right behind the posts, well away from the action, without much elevation and behind some posts meant the subtleties of the action were lost on me. So, I can’t comment on individual performances from either side nor shed any light on why Mr Rose spent so much of the evening entertaining us with his whistle. If you were watching on TV or listening online you had a better take of what was going on. Actually, if you had just closed your eyes and where concentrating so hard that the vague outlines of men in blue, black and white swam before your eyes, you had a better view too. But you probably passed out long before the final whistle.

At the end of last season Exeter Chiefs were welcomed to the Premiership with many pundits praising their powerful, direct and well-drilled game. Once the season began and the Chiefs made it clear they were not going to be the Premiership whipping boys, coaches spoke of their powerful, direct and well-drilled game. A week or so back, at the evening without Nick Blofeld, Brad Davis spoke about the preparations for the game against the Chiefs and how we would have to counter their powerful, direct and well-drilled game.

But, for the first ten minutes, Bath had no answer to Exeter pressure. It seems that the Chiefs were sneakily playing a powerful, direct and well-drilled game. Who’da thought it?

Exeter caused Mr Rose to go to his TMO within the first 10 minutes but were denied when the big screen showed a Bath hand scrabbling the ball down but the Chiefs took the lead with a penalty. Bath responded by taking the ball well into the host’s 22. Momentum was lost through poor handling of ball from the lineout, but Olly was able to take three points from the attack.

If Bath were just slow to settle, then a change in the game plan was forced on them with the loss of Bendy within the first quarter. We can only hope this is nothing serious – the Bath attack looked low on options without his destructive running.

Steenson was able to put Exeter ahead again with a penalty on 18 minutes and added a further three points on 26 minutes. The Chiefs were enjoying possession and Bath, on the rare opportunities they found themselves with the ball, opted for pointless and wayward kicking from the hand or saw forward momentum brought to a halt by poor handling.

Bath were able to close the gap to 9-6 before the break after good work from the forwards from a lineout.

Bath began the second half with more authority and Olly levelled the scores early on. Despite the increase in blue, black and white intensity the retention of the ball and an inability to create field position hampered the attack. The game turned as we entered the final quarter with the usually dependable boot of Steenson wasting 2 shots at goal. With 5 minutes to go, Bath were camped on the Exeter line, but unable to make the break until Mr Rose’s inevitable whistle intervened and Olly was given a simple kick to take the game.

A huge defensive performance, a win on the road and a place in the top four. No bad things – but Steenson’s inaccuracy was the catalyst and the need for massive defence was often caused by poor decision making and finishing on our part. Did we miss the Matts? Matt C, most definitely – Ben Williams still has a way to go to be the finished article. If there was one game that highlighted our need to hang on to Matt if we can, this was it. Matt B, maybe not. We were kicking too much useful ball away. Most worrying was how the loss of Bendy seemed to leave us with few options for moving the ball up the centre of the pitch.

A subdued supporters club coach voted Stuart Hooper the Supporters Coach Man of the Match, though Simon Taylor also had strong support. But the overall feeling was ‘we were shocking, but we won.’ Things will have to be a lot more clinical at Castle Grim. If my sources are correct, up there in Glaws they plan a powerful, direct, well-drilled game. You have been warned.

Exeter Chiefs 9, Bath 12