The cream has been rising to the top in the Champions Cup across Europe this weekend and here was a spectacular West Country rugby spread to complement it. Exeter have seen off several big-name visitors to Devon over the years but on a cool, breezy teatime they surpassed all expectations to set up a tasty semi-final against either La Rochelle or Saracens.
With the possible exception of their memorable home semi-final win over Toulouse three years ago this was as resounding a result as the Chiefs have managed since they were promoted to the Premiership back in 2010. They may or may not go on to lift the title for the second time in four seasons but in terms of tempo, purpose and defensive appetite they were outstanding.
In the first 45 minutes the Stormers were blown away, with four stunning tries from Tom Wyatt, Jack Nowell, Olly Woodburn and Sam Simmonds giving the hosts an unassailable 28-0 lead. The South African side did stage a second-half comeback of sorts but, when it came to smart tactical options, sure execution under pressure and sheer pulsating desire, they were simply no match for their inspired opponents.
The upshot was one of the great rugby occasions, sealed with two further late tries from their faithful replacement hooker, Jack Yeandle, and the young scrum-half Tom Cairns. Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, stressed it was a team effort that ranked alongside the very best he has known. “We’ve made things very simple for ourselves and did not beat ourselves, as we have this season. It felt more like what Exeter Chiefs are about and the result took care of itself,” he said.
It also totally confounded pre-game forecasts that the visitors’ all-Springbok front row would prove too strong. There was the question, too, of whether Exeter had fully recharged their batteries after their marathon extra-time thriller against Montpellier six days previously. The spirit is always willing in Exeter but their stamina had been sorely tested.
It was the visitors, though, who turned out to be more affected by their midweek long-haul flights and minimal training time. Exeter needed to take early advantage but initially the Stormers had other ideas and stole the Chiefs’ first key attacking lineout. The home side had to look elsewhere for inspiration and, with 13 minutes gone, they found it out wide. Woodburn made tremendous ground down the left in the first instance before Joe Simmonds delivered a perfect cross kick into the grateful arms of Wyatt who barely had to break stride to score.
The in-form full-back can presently do little wrong and is playing well enough to keep Scotland’s 100-cap legend Stuart Hogg on the bench. His enthusiasm is also lifting those around him and suddenly the Stormers had their hands properly full. Exeter poured forward and Nowell, in defiance of a tweaked right knee, spun out of a couple of tackles close to a ruck and stretched successfully for the line to extend his side’s lead. “That’s the best game of rugby I’ve ever seen from anyone with one leg,” said Baxter.
There was even better to come from a home perspective after the influential Henry Slade befuddled the Stormers rearguard with a beautiful 50:22 touch finder. The lineout was thrown long and Sean O’Brien popped it straight back inside to a charging Woodburn who surged over from 20 metres out for Exeter’s third try.
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Sweet Devonian dreams are made of this. Covid hit plenty of clubs hard but it really affected Exeter’s momentum after their remarkable European and domestic trophy double in 2020. A number of those conquering heroes are moving on at the end of this season and a desire to send them off in style has helped to revitalise young and old alike.
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But could they sustain it with the wind mostly in their faces in the second half? The answer was an emphatic yes, with Exeter’s scramble defence and kick chase also playing its part. Sam Simmonds burst unstoppably clear for Exeter’s fourth try and, while Damian Willemse and Suleiman Hartzenberg restored some pride for the visitors, it was ultimately a minor footnote in another compelling Chiefs story. This has not been a great season for English rugby but Exeter are proving an increasingly glorious exception to the rule.
