Chiefs 40 Sharks 30
Exeter Chiefs 40
Sale Sharks 30
Mark Stevens at Sandy Park
London’s Calling once again for the Exeter Chiefs after they booked a sixth successive appearance in the Gallagher Premiership final with victory over Sale Sharks at Sandy Park.
Rob Baxter’s side are now just one game away from securing back-to-back titles, after they brushed aside the attentions of the Sharks in this pulsating last four encounter.
Just seven days on from locking horns against the same opponents on the final day of the regular season, Devon’s finest used their big-game experience to the full, producing a display that now sets them up for a winner-takes-all showdown with Harlequins.
The Londoners - who ironically they faced on day one of this current season - produced a formidable fightback at Ashton Gate, clawing their way back from 28-0 down against Bristol Bears to eventually prevail 43-36.
Now, it all comes down to a mouth-watering showdown at English Rugby HQ, where the Chiefs will be looking to sign off what has been another testing season on a high note.
Forced into change following the suspensions to both Sam Skinner and Dave Ewers, the Chiefs - who also drafted in Jack Nowell for the first time in a month - started this latest match firmly on the front foot.
Unlike the week previous where the hungry Sharks were the dominant force for the best part of an hour, the sense of injustice the Chiefs felt in the wake of bans for Messrs Ewers and Skinner was clear to see from the outset. They tore into their rivals from the very first whistle and quickly set the attacking tone.
Richard Capstick, brought into replace Ewers, lasted little more than five minutes, the flanker pole-axed by a hefty hit from Sale centre Manu Tuilagi. The England and British Lions star saw yellow for his actions, whilst Capstick would play not further part.
Post-game, Baxter again questioned the current rulings around such incidents, the Chiefs Director of Rugby clearly aggrieved that the Sharks man didn’t receive greater punishment at that stage.
In Capstick’s absence, Don Armand was introduced into the fray and the Zimbabwean produced a colossal display in the back-row. He hadn’t been on the pitch a minute, before the Chiefs were opening the scoring, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie torpedoing his way over the line from a close-range, tap penalty.
Skipper Joe Simmonds slotted the extras to that score, but was just wide with his second shot at the target, the Chiefs fly-half unable to add the conversion to Tom O’Flaherty’s try on 12 minutes.
The Chiefs winger was able to dot down with ease after good rush defence from the home side saw Simon Hammersley spill the ball under pressure from Jack Maunder, before Henry Slade scooped up possession and created a two-on-one scenario for his team-mate to finish.
It was a dream start for the Chiefs, but the Sharks quickly regrouped and in their first meaningful foray into Exeter territory, they cut the deficit when fly-half Robert du Preez slotted a routine penalty.
At the other end, Joe Simmonds countered with a successful kick of his own, Armand rewarded for great work at the breakdown midway inside the Sale half, before the Sharks once more took a chunk out of the home side’s lead, Rohan Janse van Rensburg squeezing over in the corner after winger Aaron Reed and skipper Tom Curry had combined to send the South African over in the left-hand corner for the converted score.
It served as a timely warning to the Chiefs that these Shark-infested waters were still incredibly hazardous. Thankfully, Baxter’s troops were focused on their mission at hand and when clever play from Maunder saw Rob du Preez snagged inside his own dead-ball area, it allowed the Devonians to position themselves to strike.
Playing with advantage off the subsequent five-metre scrum, they shipped the ball left only for the play to come up short. Undeterred, the Chiefs whipped the ball back to the penalty mark, Nowell taking charge of proceedings, taking quickly and catching the Sharks all at sea as he barged his way over for the score, converted by Simmonds to make it 22-10.
Sandy Park duly erupted into a wall of noise, but the Sharks weren’t done there and when home prop Alec Hepburn was pinged for being on the wrong side of a ruck, Rob du Preez again stepped forward to dispatch another penalty to cut the deficit at the turn to just eight points.
HALF TIME EXETER CHIEFS 22 SALE SHARKS 13
After an action-packed first half, it was all to play for as the two rivals re-emerged for the second period. Again, though, it wad the Chiefs who were quickest out for the traps, Simmonds extending their lead with a penalty after older brother Sam, this week named the Premiership’s Player of the Season, was taken out off the ball.
The Sharks, though, were not going quietly and when they regathered possession almost from the restart, the ball was worked out to their back division, where Rob du Preez’s sublime grubber in behind a rushing Chiefs defence created the opening for Van Rensburg to claim his second of the day.
Five points in it, now it was game on for both sides!
This Chiefs outfit, however, have a crafty knack of upping their game when it really matters. Sensing the danger, they quickly clicked back into gear, fashioning a score out of seemingly nothing.
Knowing they had advantage off a penalty, Simmonds drilled a cross-field kick in behind the Sharks rearguard. Hammersley did his best to try and field the ball, but under pressure from the onrushing Cuthbert, he failed to gobble up possession and there was Nowell to claim the simplest of touchdowns for another converted score.
The nip-and-tuck nature of the contest continued to prevail as the minutes ticked by, du Preez adding a penalty, before the Chiefs landed a fifth try. Working the ball inside off a five-metre line-out, the forwards pushed and shoved their way to within sniffing distance of the whitewash, before Stu Townsend popped the ball to Cuthbert who did the rest.
It was a seminal moment for the Welsh international who, during his three-year tenure in Devon, has undergone his fair share of injury woes. Today, thankfully, it was a good day and he celebrated in style as he inched his team ever close to Twickers.
Sale - under the guidance of Alex Sanderson - are a rising force once more and when they stole over for a converted score of their own from Dan du Preez ten minutes from time, there was a slim hope they could perhaps pull off a fightback as good as that of Harlequins earlier in the day.
Unlike the Bears, the Chiefs were in no mood to give up their supremacy and in a dominant final push, a third Simmonds penalty edged the home side to another two-score lead, a position they would not surrender come the close.
As the Covid capacity crowd celebrated, so the heavens opened - much in the same manner as they did at Twickenham last October when the Chiefs claimed their second Premiership gong.
It mattered not, the party had already started in Sandy Park. Now, it’s up to Baxter and his players to extend the feel-good factor for another week at least.
Twickenham Here We Come!
Chiefs: J Nowell; A Cuthbert (S Hogg 68), H Slade, O Devoto, T O’Flaherty; J Simmonds (capt), J Maunder (S Townsend 52); A Hepburn (B Moon 52), L Cowan-Dickie (J Yeandle 64), H Williams (M Street 68); J Gray (S Lonsdale 57), J Hill; J Kirsten, R Capstick (D Armand 5), S Simmonds. Replacement (not used): H Skinner.
Tries - Cowan-Dickie, O’Flaherty, Nowell (2), Cuthbert; Conversions - J Simmonds (3); Penalties - J Simmonds (3)
Sharks: S Hammersley; B McGuigan, R-J van Rensburg, M Tuilagi (S Hill 68), A Reed; R du Preez (K Wilkinson 70), F de Klerk (R Quirke 57); R Harrison (V Morozov 57), C Langdon (E Ashman 57), C Oosthuizen (J Harper 60); C Wiese (J Phillips 68), J-L du Preez; T Curry (capt), B Curry (J Ross 57), D du Preez.
Tries - Van Rensburg (2), D du Preez; Conversions - R du Preez (2), Wilkinson; Penalties - R du Preez (3)
Yellow Card: Tuilagi
Referee: T Foley
Attendance: 3,046