Braves display delights Pellow
By Mark Stevens
17/11/18
Ricky Pellow praised his Exeter Braves side as they returned to the top of the Southern Conference in this season’s Premiership Rugby Shield with a powerful 57-19 victory overt Gloucester United at Sandy Park.
Last season’s beaten finalists made it four wins from as many starts with another impressive display that yielded eight tries in total.
Jack Maunder, Paul Davis, James McRae and Rus Trima all claimed first half scores as the hosts led 31-14 at the break - and it was much the same after the break as James Kenny, McRae, Barry Karea and Tuima added further touchdowns.
In reply, Cam Terry, Jack Barlett and Jack Reeves all scored tries for the Cherry & Whites, but it was scant reward on an afternoon where they were second best in all departments.
With the Braves able to parade a large number of players who had featured for the club’s first team in this season’s Premiership Rugby Cup in recent weeks, it was that continuity and togetherness that paved the way for this latest triumph.
“Having those three Premiership Cup games over the last few weeks gave us something to work with and to build from,” said Skills Coach Pellow. “Today, it was another opportunity for a lot of those players to not only step up again, but also get game minutes into them, and also push us on within the competition.
“To have played four, won four, is exactly where we want to be. From the outset, the guys really hit the ground running and they got stuck into Gloucester early on. Fair play to them, they ripped the momentum back off us for a period, but then we got it back and we were able to really push on again.”
Pellow says the exposure gleaned by those - young and old - who have featured in the recent Cup fixtures was noticeable in helping to Braves preserve their winning record this term.
“If you look at the Gloucester squad today, it was a very young side,” said Pellow.“We also had a young side out there, but a lot of those guys have played in the first team a lot over the last free weeks and they’ve been together, working hard for a decent block now. I think that showed in terms of not only our attack, but also our defensive shape.
“Our senior guys really led from the front out there. Jack Maunder at nine was outstanding, Shorty and Flats on the wings always looked dangerous, as did the rest of the backs, and the forwards just kept giving us go-forward ball by working hard around the contact areas.”
Equally, the game offered some of the club’s emerging talent - the likes of young forwards James Kenny, Alfie Petch, Rus Tuima, Josh Caulfield and James McRae to showcase their talent.
Pellow continued: “Some of those young players really stood up again today.We’ve seen a number of them go well in the Cup in recent weeks and they’ve continued that again in this match. In terms of their development, the more we can put them into games like this, the better it’s going to be for both them and us.
“All of them are taking steps forward all the time and developing their games. Having them working so well alongside those senior players, they are all taking their opportunities and putting their hands up for selection, which is exactly what we want from all of them.”