‘I would rather have a shower than a Bath’ were the cries of EURFC members in the moments prior to their team taking the field at Sandy Park on Wednesday evening. The chant was not, one assumes, actually a comment on methods of maintaining personal hygiene, but instead a way of cheering on the men in green and white as they took on the University of Bath’s 1st XV in their second and last ‘spotlight’ fixture of the BUCS Super Rugby season.
Coming into the 14th round of fixtures, Bath sat in 3rd place in the league, while the historically dominant Exeter sat uncharacteristically in 4th. Exeter were trying to avenge both the loss they suffered at the hands of Durham in the first ‘Spotlight’ fixture of the year back in October, and the narrow 20-18 defeat they suffered when they travelled to Bath in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
Billed as the ‘South-West Showdown’, the game shot into action early, as Kian Gentry stopped Bath’s Freddie Rossigneux in his tracks, which lead to a penalty, Exeter opting for a kick that Lewis O’Grady was able to put firmly between the posts. Gentry would go on to be the star player for the Devon outfit, with his ability to carry the ball on the wings effectively combining with his hard-hitting tackling in the backline making him crucial to the dominant position Exeter assumed during the first half.
Gentry would go on to be the star player for the Devon outfit, with his ability to carry the ball on the wings effectively combining with his hard-hitting tackling in the backline making him crucial to the dominant position Exeter assumed during the first half.
Exeter Chiefs’ internationally capped stars Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Greg Fisilau were in attendance at Sandy Park to watch as tries from Harrison Hall, Noah Fenton and Tom Gulley gave Exeter control of the first half. Even a try from the agile Rossigneux wasn’t enough to get Bath back into the half, as Exeter’s attack was complimented by Lewis O’Grady not missing a kick from the tee, nailing five from five at the halfway point, and giving Exeter a 24-7 lead.
But when the teams emerged Bath appeared to have a new lease of life. Early tries by Alfie Griffin and Fraser Riddoch reduced the gap between the two teams, but Raff Weston was unable to be as clinical from the tee as his opposite number and missed a conversion.
Bath’s control of the game didn’t last for too long however, and Gentry picked up where he left off in the first half, breaking the Bath line to help set up a try for full-back Jed Finlay, clinching Exeter a bonus point. There was no doubt about O’Grady being able to put the ball between the posts to put Exeter further in the lead.
The drop off in atmosphere often seen during the second half of Exeter’s spotlight fixtures at Sandy Park was nowhere to be seen either, and the night couldn’t be dampened by Ludo Kolade’s scoring in the seventy second minute to reduce the deficit to just one try.
Nor would it be dampened by O’Grady striking the upright from the tee, as with just four minutes to go in the game the combination of Noah Fenton’s quick feet and some perfectly timed offloads from Hall and Dylan Power set up Will Smears going over to put the Exeter, and the game, out of reach.
Finishing with one of the tries of the season to win 36-24, the men in green and white showed their class under the bright lights and in front of the 4000-strong crowd. They managed to avenge their disappointing loss earlier in the year under the Sandy Park lights, and put them in good stead to end the season on a high. Sitting now in fourth, defence of their league leaders shield looks unlikely, but their final four games of the season are all against opposition lower than them in the table, in Durham, Leeds Beckett, and both Cardiff sides.
“We’re just trying to build momentum, trying to cement that second half of the season, rebuilding as a team after a perhaps a difficult start to the season” were the words of club captain Woody Pugh post-match, and there’s no reason that they shouldn’t be able to. If player of the match Kian Gentry continues his rich vein of form, the defence carries on being as dominant as it was against Bath, and the backs continue to be as creative and nimble-footed as they were in the dying embers of this game, then Exeter can end the season with their heads held high.
Final Score: University of Exeter 36-24 University of Bath
