Chiefs 44 Bulls 14
Exeter Chiefs 44
Vodacom Bulls 14
Mark Stevens at Sandy Park
He’s been part and parcel of the furniture at Sandy Park for 12 years and in a few months time Luke Cowan-Dickie will bid adieu to Exeter for one last time, ready to start a new rugby chapter across the English Channel with Montpellier.
It will bring to a close a hugely successful journey for the 29-year-old, who has progressed through the Chiefs Academy to establish himself as one of modern-day rugby’s most-prized asset.
His departure will be felt, make no bones about it. However, between now and then the Cornishman has his eyes firmly fixed on ensuring his Chiefs swan-song will be packed full of memories.
Today, he created yet more happy times, his hat-trick of tries helping his side to storm past South African visitors, Vodacom Bulls. Cowan-Dickie’s treble was the headline act, but he was ably backed up by tries from Dave Ewers, Henry Slade and Solomone Kata as the hosts collected maximum reward for a second week running in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
The Bulls countered with converted scores of their own through Stravino Jacobs and Chris Smith, but that was scant reward on an afternoon when they were outplayed in virtually every aspect of the game.
Looking to build on their impressive away-day win at Castres a week earlier, the Chiefs saw little reasons to tinker too much with their winning formula. Indeed, the sole change was to bring in Cowan-Dickie for club captain Jack Yeandle at hooker.
The Bulls, meanwhile, also stuck largely with the same side that had kicked-off their debut in Europe’s top competition with victory at home to Lyon. Included in their ranks was the experienced Springboks pair of Bismarck du Plessis and Morne Steyn, as well as a host of youthful, homegrown talent.
From the outset, though, it was the Chiefs who came out firing. Just three minutes had elapsed when good work from Scott Sio at scrum time was rewarded with a routine penalty in front of the posts that Joe Simmonds dispatched with little concern.
Home cheers proved short-lived as within a few minutes, the Bulls picked off the Chiefs with their first meaningful foray behind enemy lines. Capitalising on a mistake from Henry Slade, they countered initially through full-back Wandisile Simelane, before they worked their way through a series of phases, fashioning the opening for winger Jacobs to glide his way over by the home posts.
However, any hopes they had of this being the springboard to further success were quickly shut down by the Chiefs. Indeed, having claimed a 42-36 victory over Lyon in their Champions Cup opener, they found their first assignment on the road much harder. The temperature difference between Pretoria and Exeter was the first shock, then came the pressure of the home pack.
With the experienced du Plessis a walking penalty machine, the Chiefs were able to capitalise to the fore. One of the hooker’s indiscretions allowed the hosts to kick for the corner where, from the resultant line-out, they fashioned the opening for Ewers, Exeter’s very own ‘Afrikaner Bull’, to drive over for an instant response.
Cowan-Dickie followed him over the whitewash just five minutes later, the England and British Lions star, latching onto the rear of a well-drilled, catch-and-drive move to extend his side’s lead to 15-7 in as many minutes.
Shaken, but not stirred, the Bulls looked to counter almost immediately. A line-out drive of their own looked destined for reward, but somehow the intervention of Exeter replacement Solomone Kata kept that at bay, before his team-mates again scrambled sufficiently enough to prevent another Bulls charge for the try-line.
Threat averted, it was back into offensive mood for the remainder of the half for the Chiefs. Cowan-Dickie grabbed his second, finishing off a near carbon-copy of his opening scorer, before solid approach work from Sam Simmonds, Jonny Gray and Sio laid the foundations for Slade to get in on the scoring act.
Joe Simmonds bagged the extras to that latter score, before adding a long-range penalty with the last action of the half, to put the Chiefs firmly in control of proceedings at the turn.
HALF TIME: EXETER CHIEFS 32 VODACOM BULLS 7
Bonus point already safely in the bag, the question now was how the Chiefs would go about attacking the second half. For those in attendance, the wait was not long in coming as it took just six minutes for the Devonians to add to their already impressive points tally.
The lively Kata and Sam Simmonds did the initial damage with some wrecking-ball carries that got the hosts to within sight of the line. Again, the Bulls infringed under the shadow of their own posts and there was Cowan-Dickie, quick as a flash, to tap the resultant penalty and catch the visitors napping to claim his third of the contest.
That was Cowan-Dickie’s last act, he was replaced just as Joe Simmonds slotted the extras to his score, but the all-action forward had clearly done his bit. The coaches no doubt keen to ensure he is in fine fettle for upcoming Premiership clashes with Bath (Dec 24) and Saracens (Dec 31).
With both sides emptying their benches, the game - as you would expect - began to lose its fizz. The Bulls, though, were far from finished and with Steyn still looking to pull the strings at fly-half, the Boks’ No.10 chipped in behind a rushing Chiefs defence to create the chance for centre Smith.
The bounce of the ball was unkind to Exeter’s Josh Hodge and Olly Woodburn in the back field, but Smith was alert enough to gather and dot down for a second try, which Steyn duly converted.
Again, it was a rare moment of joy for the South Africans, who no doubt were already thinking of their 11-hour jaunt back home and the prospect of facing the Stormers in what will be a pre-Christmas cracker.
Exeter, though, had no such thoughts of taking their foot off the accelerator and virtually from the restart they were able to score once again, the brilliance of Slade carving the opening for Kata to race his way over in the left-hand corner.
Job done effectively, all that was left for the Chiefs to do was to see out the remainder of the contest with no real drama. The loss of youngster Will Becconsall to a dislocated shoulder wasn’t helpful, nor was a late yellow card for Ewers, but it mattered not.
Ewers lapped up the applause of his team-mates and the Sandy Park crowd as he was confirmed - for a second week running - Heineken’s Star of the Match. It was vintage stuff from the no-nonsense flanker, whose worth to the Chiefs remains colossal.
Chiefs: S Hogg (J Hodge 58); J Nowell, H Slade, R O'Loughlin (S Kata 16), O Woodburn; J Simmonds, S Maunder (W Becconsall 60); S Sio (A Hepburn 54), L Cowan-Dickie (capt, J Yeandle 46), H Williams (J Iosefa-Scott 54); D Jenkins, J Gray (R van Heerden 56); D Ewers, C Tshiunza, S Simmonds (S Grondona 56).
Tries - Ewers, Cowan-Dickie (3), Slade, Kata; Conversions - J Simmonds (4); Penalty - J Simmonds
Yellow Card: Ewers
Bulls: W Simelane (J Mostert 69); S Novuka, S Gans, C Smith (C Baines 60-66), S Jacobs; M Steyn (capt), B van der Linde (K Johannes 71); D Smith (L Gqoboka 47), B Du Plessis (J van Zal 60), J van Rooyen (S Lombard 58); R Ludwig, J Swanepoel; N Carr (C Hanekom 74), WJ Steenkamp (P Maqondwana 58), M Uys.
Tries - Jacobs, Smith; Conversions - Steyn (2)
Referee: M Raynal
Attendance: 11,518