Exeter Chiefs
Notts 11 Chiefs 42
3 Wheels
By 3 Wheels on My Waggon
November 11 2009
Sorry this is late 3 Wheels, just not enough hours in the day!!!
10 out of 10
Onwards and Upwards
Bring on the Pirates
(That’s the answer to my question -Where do we go from here?)
We’d driven through some pretty dire weather on our way to the Midlands, and it really looked like we were in for a very wet day, but just north of Briz, the skies cleared for a sunny, almost cloud free afternoon. But as the sun fell westward there was a more autumnal chill in the air.
We started in the Presidents bar, where they were obviously not expecting much of a turnout for the England game, judging by the 2 staff manning the bar, but it was nice to see the Tigers 2 rather full trophy cabinets. From there we moved around into the ground itself, ‘Oh my! The Caterpillar stand is very imposing’ with all its c.12000 seats rising from pitch level into the sky, it makes our South Stand look somewhat less grand!! But then we were to be confined to the Crumbies stand with its front terrace and school bench seating arrangement. There are no surprises that there are plans to replace it, although many clubs would still like one as grand. A little note to self, ‘Don’t be so quick to criticise the SP prices, a 4inch pasty, £3, a piece of Chicken n ham pie, £6, Premiership prices?’
There had been much talk over the previous 2 days about Nottingham being no more than a Leicester 2nds team, having had several dual registration players recalled and a host of others injured. So maybe it wasn’t going to be such a close game after all. But at least they turned up!
The first few minutes set the scene for much of the game, with a penalty for Steeno in the first few minutes, followed closely by a try for Jess and another 2 points for Steeno. Nottingham hit back with a penalty of their own, and with plenty of enthusiasm, they managed to stay in the Chiefs half for long periods of time, but unable to break the strong defence. The Chiefs again scored, with Steeno unusually missing the kick, although he quickly made up for it by scoring another penalty. The pressure on the Green and Whites was beginning to show with one after another going down injured, however they seemed reluctant to replace Nic Rouse, their No 5, who had an obvious leg injury, but still completed the first half despite hobbling around.
The second half started with Nottingham’s Adam Rostron leaving the pitch within a minute following a head injury, another indication of what a bruising game Nottingham were having, with several other players taking a long time to rise from tackles. At one point there were 2 if not 3 Green and Whites either injured or just taking a rest on the cold grass. Hayden Thomas was having a great day, making another breakaway run that was eventually finished off by Scaysbrook. This was followed not long after by a Chris Budgen try. From here on in the match swung in Nottingham’s direction, with the team showing character and spirit to take the game back towards the Chiefs.
Even the Notts faithful decided to take up the reigns by stealing the Chief’s chant and singing “Nottingham! Nottingham! Nottingham!” to our tune, and despite trying to out chant them, we admitted defeat, as the G&W’s kept on and on for several minutes.
Even with the strength of the Chief’s scrum, the Green n Whites elected to take the scrum instead of a penalty on 2 occasions. That’s the way it was apart from 2 counterattacks, the second counterattack was mounted, with the Exeter backs swinging the ball along the line, and with a man spare, it seemed they were certain to score, unfortunately Emyr appeared to want some glory, darting for the line only to be stopped by their last man. Nottingham finally got a reward for their pressure, scoring a try in the last minute of time. With the conversion missed, the ref blew for time, bringing about the end to a good game both on and off the pitch.
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11/11/2009 17:36
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