Exeter Chiefs
Review of Exeter Chiefs pre-season weekend v Blues & Pirates
Moorsman
By Moorsman
August 23 2010
A few thoughts and observations following Exeter Chiefs 'double game' pre-season weekend.
Pre-season Weekend
Saturday 21st - Exeter Chiefs 21 Cardiff Blues 26
Sunday 22nd - Exeter Chiefs 22 Cornish Pirates 14
A few thoughts and observations
Saturday 21st - Exeter Chiefs 21 Cardiff Blues 26
Sunday 22nd - Exeter Chiefs 22 Cornish Pirates 14
A few thoughts and observations
Firstly it was great to get back to Sandy Park, catch up with a few of The Tribe regulars and watch some live rugby. There was a definite air of returning for the new term about with everyone reliving the final and post match celebrations and really looking forward to our first season in the Prem (well almost everyone - a couple who sit behind me picked up where they left off moaning last season!!).
Sandy Park is looking good although the temporary 'wings' on the West stand don't do much for the look of the ground. The new South West Comms stand looks good but has a very shallow rake, which may be a problem for those of shorter stature and the stantions will remind a few of the County Ground days when the action always seemed to take place behind them. The pitch itself is immaculate and will be a joy for the Chiefs and their visitors to play on.
As usual I'll not give a detailed match account but here are links to the Offy for that. Chiefs v Blues & Chiefs v Pirates
Saturday saw a very familar Chiefs side take on Cardiff Blues in their new very bright pink away strip that on a sunny day may have the opposition wishing they had sungalsses on. The only changes to the winning 15 at Bristol were Bryan Rennie who was due to start both games but missed them with an injury sustained in training and James Phillips who signed from Bristol and replaced the injured Richie Baxter. The crowd of 4,356 were treated to a pretty open game and most supporters I spoke to felt there were plenty of positives to be taken from it but were dissapointed the Chiefs didn't maintain the intensity with wihich they started and ended the match. Steeno was in really good form but Man of the Match Nic Stetaret showed how determined he is to make an impact with a tremendously commited display. Josh Matavesi looked quick and powerful but needs to 'lose' some of the 7's approach to the game and new signing Garrick Cowley impressed when he replaced Haydn Thomas.
Exeter Chiefs: Dollman (Matavesi, 57); Jess, Rennie, Foster, Sestaret; Steenson, Thomas (Cowley, 61); Sturgess (Moon, 72), Clark (Alcott, 61), Tui (Budgen, 61), Hayes, Hanks (Gannon, 67), Slade (Johnson, 51), Scaysbrook, Phillips. Reps (not used): McKenzie, Bentley, Miller, Locke
Cardiff Blues: Czekaj (Fish, 68); Mustoe, Evans (Hewitt, H/T), Shanklin, James (Loxton, 68); Sweeney, Williams; Davies (Hobbs, 61), Thomas (Dacey, 23), Yapp (Andrews, H/T), Down (Griffiths, H/T), Tito (White, 53), Paterson, Warburton, Brown (Molitika, 61). Reps (not used): Rees, Parks
Exeter Chiefs: P McKenzie; C Walker-Blair, D Locke, J Matavesi, M Canty; G Cowley, J Polu; R Murphy (B Moon 50), C Whitehead (J Vickers 79), I Elosu (C Budgen 44); C Bentley, D Gannon (capt); H Stupple, A Miller, D Ewers. Replacements (not used) : J Andrew, O Marriott, J Fleming, R Avery-Wright, C Reakes, R Coote.
Cornish Pirates: R Cook; R McAtee, M Hopper, S Winn (N Jackson 58), T Luke; J Bentley, G Cattle (capt, J Doherty 71); R Storer (C Rimmer 51), D Ward (R Elloway 18-24, 66), J Currie (A Paver 58); M Myerscough (I Nimmo h/t), L McGlone; C Morgan (S Betty 51), T Holmes, K Marriott (B Cowan 66). Replacement (not used): G Goodfellow.
So, all in all an interesting weekend that will give Rob Baxter plenty to think about and it will be interesting to see the side he selects for Friday's game at the Scarletts. We have still to see new signings, Andrew Higgins, Ryan Davis, Eoghan Grace and Luke Arscott in action for the first 15.
Sandy Park is looking good although the temporary 'wings' on the West stand don't do much for the look of the ground. The new South West Comms stand looks good but has a very shallow rake, which may be a problem for those of shorter stature and the stantions will remind a few of the County Ground days when the action always seemed to take place behind them. The pitch itself is immaculate and will be a joy for the Chiefs and their visitors to play on.
As usual I'll not give a detailed match account but here are links to the Offy for that. Chiefs v Blues & Chiefs v Pirates
Saturday saw a very familar Chiefs side take on Cardiff Blues in their new very bright pink away strip that on a sunny day may have the opposition wishing they had sungalsses on. The only changes to the winning 15 at Bristol were Bryan Rennie who was due to start both games but missed them with an injury sustained in training and James Phillips who signed from Bristol and replaced the injured Richie Baxter. The crowd of 4,356 were treated to a pretty open game and most supporters I spoke to felt there were plenty of positives to be taken from it but were dissapointed the Chiefs didn't maintain the intensity with wihich they started and ended the match. Steeno was in really good form but Man of the Match Nic Stetaret showed how determined he is to make an impact with a tremendously commited display. Josh Matavesi looked quick and powerful but needs to 'lose' some of the 7's approach to the game and new signing Garrick Cowley impressed when he replaced Haydn Thomas.
Exeter Chiefs: Dollman (Matavesi, 57); Jess, Rennie, Foster, Sestaret; Steenson, Thomas (Cowley, 61); Sturgess (Moon, 72), Clark (Alcott, 61), Tui (Budgen, 61), Hayes, Hanks (Gannon, 67), Slade (Johnson, 51), Scaysbrook, Phillips. Reps (not used): McKenzie, Bentley, Miller, Locke
Cardiff Blues: Czekaj (Fish, 68); Mustoe, Evans (Hewitt, H/T), Shanklin, James (Loxton, 68); Sweeney, Williams; Davies (Hobbs, 61), Thomas (Dacey, 23), Yapp (Andrews, H/T), Down (Griffiths, H/T), Tito (White, 53), Paterson, Warburton, Brown (Molitika, 61). Reps (not used): Rees, Parks
Sunday was a totally different affair with a host of new signings, Academy and Exeter Uni players makiung up the side. Josh Matevesi was given a start at 12 and Garrick Cowley played 10 outside of new signing Junior Polu who has a lightning fast pass but didn't look comfortable with the box kick. Prop Ignacio Eluso is very like Hoani Tui to look at and appeared surprisingly nimble considering his physique. The front five were always in control and gave the Pirates scrum a torid time. Unfortunately the line-out was poor and the Chiefs wasted many opportunities by failing to take good ball. The game was very disjointed, not helped by poor refereeing of the breakdown where the Pirates were penalised time and again and were lucky not to see more than one yellow card. Bentos was very vocal throughout and scored a well deserved try. Charlie Walker-Blair looks a great prospect and took his try well but my Man of the Match was Drew Locke. Drew showed great pace and strength in both attack and defence and was assisted in showing the crowd his 6 or is that 12 pack when his shirt was removed during a heated discussion with his opposite number.
Exeter Chiefs: P McKenzie; C Walker-Blair, D Locke, J Matavesi, M Canty; G Cowley, J Polu; R Murphy (B Moon 50), C Whitehead (J Vickers 79), I Elosu (C Budgen 44); C Bentley, D Gannon (capt); H Stupple, A Miller, D Ewers. Replacements (not used) : J Andrew, O Marriott, J Fleming, R Avery-Wright, C Reakes, R Coote.
Cornish Pirates: R Cook; R McAtee, M Hopper, S Winn (N Jackson 58), T Luke; J Bentley, G Cattle (capt, J Doherty 71); R Storer (C Rimmer 51), D Ward (R Elloway 18-24, 66), J Currie (A Paver 58); M Myerscough (I Nimmo h/t), L McGlone; C Morgan (S Betty 51), T Holmes, K Marriott (B Cowan 66). Replacement (not used): G Goodfellow.
So, all in all an interesting weekend that will give Rob Baxter plenty to think about and it will be interesting to see the side he selects for Friday's game at the Scarletts. We have still to see new signings, Andrew Higgins, Ryan Davis, Eoghan Grace and Luke Arscott in action for the first 15.
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Discussion started by thechiefstribe.com (IP Logged), 23/08/2010 13:50
23/08/2010 13:50
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I agree with moorsman. Thought Drew was a better candidate for man of the match on Sunday. I saw him outside SP after the game and told him that as well!
It was an interesting weekend.
Saturday's game was great to watch and certainly a lot can be learnt from it. The early spell that saw Exe looking threatening inside the Cardiff 22 definitely looked promising, but the hard work of the Cardiff defence meant that we never really looked like breaking through and were forced to take every chance for 3 points when they arose - I think unless we are able to bring the backs into play a little earlier and create some inventive angles for them to run in at this could be a problem during the season.
The main dissapointment from an Exe point of view came from the handling errors, certainly room for improvement there! Defence-wise, Exe were ok, with Sestaret getting stuck in pretty well but generally there were too many tackles missed, if the Chiefs defence had been as good as the Cardiff one the scoreline would have been very different.
Finally, I thought Cardiff benefitted from the experience of players like Shanklin. You could see what an experienced rugby mind he was - things like going to ground quickly to set up a ruck rather than trying to break through and find himself isolated, it was impressive stuff and perhaps something that Exe don't yet have.
Sunday was a totally different game altogether. For me, Drew Locke looked in good form and was obviously very keen to make an impression, for a smaller chap his tackling was very effective and his running was as good as we saw when he came down from Coventry early last season. Like many of the other younger players, he's also bulked up a bit which is good. Junior Polu and Garrick Cowley worked reasonably well together and along with Matavesi ensured that the ball was whipped away from the break down pretty well - this fell apart a bit on Saturday with a few fumbles once the ball reached Steenson. That said, Matavesi took a few unnecessary risks though that could easily have been punished by a stronger side - it was good to see him looking confident I suppose. Well done to the Pirates though for taking their chances well, with a little more luck in the finishing they could have had a couple of extra tries.
All in all an ok performance on each day by the Chiefs and it was clear that many players have upped their game from last year, if the new signings gel with the stars of last season then there will be a lot to look forward too.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:23:15:57:10 by AlexChief.
Saturday's game was great to watch and certainly a lot can be learnt from it. The early spell that saw Exe looking threatening inside the Cardiff 22 definitely looked promising, but the hard work of the Cardiff defence meant that we never really looked like breaking through and were forced to take every chance for 3 points when they arose - I think unless we are able to bring the backs into play a little earlier and create some inventive angles for them to run in at this could be a problem during the season.
The main dissapointment from an Exe point of view came from the handling errors, certainly room for improvement there! Defence-wise, Exe were ok, with Sestaret getting stuck in pretty well but generally there were too many tackles missed, if the Chiefs defence had been as good as the Cardiff one the scoreline would have been very different.
Finally, I thought Cardiff benefitted from the experience of players like Shanklin. You could see what an experienced rugby mind he was - things like going to ground quickly to set up a ruck rather than trying to break through and find himself isolated, it was impressive stuff and perhaps something that Exe don't yet have.
Sunday was a totally different game altogether. For me, Drew Locke looked in good form and was obviously very keen to make an impression, for a smaller chap his tackling was very effective and his running was as good as we saw when he came down from Coventry early last season. Like many of the other younger players, he's also bulked up a bit which is good. Junior Polu and Garrick Cowley worked reasonably well together and along with Matavesi ensured that the ball was whipped away from the break down pretty well - this fell apart a bit on Saturday with a few fumbles once the ball reached Steenson. That said, Matavesi took a few unnecessary risks though that could easily have been punished by a stronger side - it was good to see him looking confident I suppose. Well done to the Pirates though for taking their chances well, with a little more luck in the finishing they could have had a couple of extra tries.
All in all an ok performance on each day by the Chiefs and it was clear that many players have upped their game from last year, if the new signings gel with the stars of last season then there will be a lot to look forward too.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:23:15:57:10 by AlexChief.
Thanks Moorsman, we were obvioulsy both at the same games - pity the refs and linesmen didn't always see the same games too!
I am encouraged by Rob Baxter's comments in todays E&E - talking about the Cardiff game he states that we can no longer be content with beung the plucky Championship losers because we are a Premiership team - that's the gist, and as usual he is right.
I am encouraged by Rob Baxter's comments in todays E&E - talking about the Cardiff game he states that we can no longer be content with beung the plucky Championship losers because we are a Premiership team - that's the gist, and as usual he is right.
BAXTER PLEASED WITH WEEKEND WORK-OUT
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes his squad are already learning lessons ahead of their Aviva Premiership debut against Gloucester on September 4.
Baxter watched on as the majority of his first team squad were given their first taste of pre-season action during last weekend’s double-header against Cardiff Blues and Cornish Pirates at Sandy Park.
And, as the 39-year-old had admitted previously, he deliberately picked a series of testing challenges for his side to gauge just where his troops are in terms of gearing up for life in the top flight.
“I think we got what we wanted from the weekend, everybody who was fit featured or got involved at some stage,” said Baxter. “Ideally we’d have like to put in a slightly better performance on Saturday [against Cardiff], but we definitely learned some things from that game.”
With Baxter opting to start the Cardiff game with the majority of the side that won promotion to the Premiership against Bristol in May, the Chiefs were narrowly undone 26-21 by their visitors from the Principality. Those Chiefs not involved in that encounter were then handed roles in the following day’s fixture against the Pirates, a game which the home side triumphed 22-14.
“If anything I think the players are more frustrated coming out of the Cardiff game than they are worried by it,” explained the Exeter coach. “There are a few areas they can work on that will improve us as a side very quickly, but if I’m honest, I’m really pleased with how things went and I think it was a very positive weekend for us.”
With the Chiefs set to wrap up their pre-season programme with a trip to Magners League outfit Llanelli Scarlets on Friday night (7pm), Baxter insists the two previous warm-up games have already helped to pin-point a number of positives and negatives.
“Having the video of the first two games makes a real difference,” remarked Baxter. “Now we can sit down and look at things like the contact area, where we struggled a bit on Saturday. By the end of the week we’ll have gone through the video and every individual player will have assessed his contact area play. I’m confident there will already be some improvements against the Scarlets.
“The biggest key is that whatever we work on this week is noticeably better against the Scarlets – that will show we are a team that can improve in a week. What also will be key to our success in the Premiership is whether we can keep improving – and whether we can improve quickly and adapt quickly.”
No doubt Baxter and his fellow coaches will have more to ponder following the club’s first-ever visit to Parc Y Scarlet.
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes his squad are already learning lessons ahead of their Aviva Premiership debut against Gloucester on September 4.
Baxter watched on as the majority of his first team squad were given their first taste of pre-season action during last weekend’s double-header against Cardiff Blues and Cornish Pirates at Sandy Park.
And, as the 39-year-old had admitted previously, he deliberately picked a series of testing challenges for his side to gauge just where his troops are in terms of gearing up for life in the top flight.
“I think we got what we wanted from the weekend, everybody who was fit featured or got involved at some stage,” said Baxter. “Ideally we’d have like to put in a slightly better performance on Saturday [against Cardiff], but we definitely learned some things from that game.”
With Baxter opting to start the Cardiff game with the majority of the side that won promotion to the Premiership against Bristol in May, the Chiefs were narrowly undone 26-21 by their visitors from the Principality. Those Chiefs not involved in that encounter were then handed roles in the following day’s fixture against the Pirates, a game which the home side triumphed 22-14.
“If anything I think the players are more frustrated coming out of the Cardiff game than they are worried by it,” explained the Exeter coach. “There are a few areas they can work on that will improve us as a side very quickly, but if I’m honest, I’m really pleased with how things went and I think it was a very positive weekend for us.”
With the Chiefs set to wrap up their pre-season programme with a trip to Magners League outfit Llanelli Scarlets on Friday night (7pm), Baxter insists the two previous warm-up games have already helped to pin-point a number of positives and negatives.
“Having the video of the first two games makes a real difference,” remarked Baxter. “Now we can sit down and look at things like the contact area, where we struggled a bit on Saturday. By the end of the week we’ll have gone through the video and every individual player will have assessed his contact area play. I’m confident there will already be some improvements against the Scarlets.
“The biggest key is that whatever we work on this week is noticeably better against the Scarlets – that will show we are a team that can improve in a week. What also will be key to our success in the Premiership is whether we can keep improving – and whether we can improve quickly and adapt quickly.”
No doubt Baxter and his fellow coaches will have more to ponder following the club’s first-ever visit to Parc Y Scarlet.
will be interesting to see the starting 15 Both packs looked strong.with 3 good Scrum halfs and one or two of the fringe players showing great from , plus the new boys still to feature. who would want to be head coach?
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