Harlequins 40 Chiefs 5
Harlequins 40
Exeter Chiefs 5
Mark Stevens at Twickenham
England head coach Steve Borthwick felt it important to see Marcus Smith back in competitive action.
Exeter Chiefs, on the other hand, would have wished he didn’t as the talented playmaker inspired his side to a Big Game bashing at Twickenham.
Smith’s involvement in this season’s Guinness Six Nations has been minimal at best, given Borthwick has opted for Owen Farrell in the wins over Italy and Wales. However, the 24-year-old was at his magical best, producing a man-of-the-match display that the Chiefs were simply unable to handle.
Not only did he light up this annual fixture with a spell-binding display, but his on-field wizardry was the significant difference as the hosts ran in six tries on the day.
Cadan Murley, Josh Bassett, Sam Riley, Stephan Lewies and a double from Joe Marchant paved the victory path for the Londoners, whose other points came from the boot of Smith. In reply, all the Chiefs could muster was a solitary second half score for hooker Jack Innard.
Having seen their women’s side take the honours in the first leg of this double-header, the Chiefs - buoyed by the return of key forwards Jonny Gray, Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza - were hoping they can follow suit against the Londoners, who had won the two previous skirmishes between the clubs at Rugby HQ.
The early exchanges, it has to be said, were encouraging as the visitors settled quickly into their stride. Solid work up front put them deep into enemy territory, before they looked to go wide down the right with an attack. Home winger Bassett, however, was alert to the danger, but his deliberate knock on meant he was sent to the sidelines for a ten-minute stint.
In his absence, the Chiefs again got to within sniffing distance of the white line, Jacques Vermeulen’s initial bust setting up Scott Sio, but the Aussie prop knocked on with a try looking an almost certainty.
Harlequins survived the threat and then hit the Chiefs with the game’s opening points on 12 minutes. Having won advantage off a line-out, they worked the ball inside to Smith, whose precision chip over the top was gobbled up by Andre Esterhuizen, who in turn fed Murley to race clear and in for the opening try of the contest.
It was a sucker punch, but the Chiefs looked to counter immediately. Sadly, their cause was hampered when prop Harry Williams was forced from the field with a nasty-looking knee injury. It meant an early introduction for Marcus Street, but he was quickly involved in the action as again the Chiefs set the stage perfectly, only to fluff their lines at the crucial moment.
The error summed up the issues the Devonians were suffering, but things would get decidedly worse as fly-half Harvey Skinner saw yellow for the second successive game for a head-on-head knock with James Chisholm.
Banished to the cooler, Harlequins duly made him - and the Chiefs - pay for his indiscretion, hammering home 19 unanswered points before the break. Bassett was the first to cross, exposing the numbers game in midfield, as he quietly prowled his way in off the left flank; then replacement Riley was able to dot down in the corner with his first meaningful touch as he finished off great work from Danny Care, who had caught the Chiefs out with a clever snipe down the blindside.
It was a vicious double-whammy from the hosts they had left the Chiefs clearly rocking. However, they weren’t done there, adding a bonus point score just past the half-hour mark with a scintillating attack dow the right flank. Working the ball from the middle of the pitch to Bassett, he cleverly linked with Smith, whose pass back inside released Marchant to cruise over for a third converted score.
HALF TIME: HARLEQUINS 26 EXETER CHIEFS 0
The interval gave the Chiefs coaches the opportunity to address what was a dismal first half display. However, it was Harlequins who offered the first threat after the break, full-back Nick David making the most of Ian Whitten shooting out of the line. As he tore into the Chiefs 22, though, it was skipper Jack Nowell who won a crucial turnover, winning a penalty that allowed them to clear the danger.
Nowell’s intervention would prove telling as it not only won possession back for his side, but they then used it to work their way downfield through a number of powerful attacking drives. The pressure was telling as it won a penalty which they were able to kick to the corner. Again put in prime position, this time they made no mistake as Innard worked his way over for the score.
A lifeline they so desperately craved, the Chiefs hoped Innard’s score would spark a fightback of sorts in their quest to get back into the match. The visitors threw on virtually their whole bench to ignite further fire into their cause, but it was Harlequins who quickly slammed the door in their faces, adding a fifth score just before the hour.
Another impressive link-up between David and Murley gave them red hot ball and when the Chiefs strayed offside, clever-thinking from Care saw him grubber in behind the Exeter defensive line, allowing Marchant to dot down with ease for another score converted by Smith.
Sadly, it would get no better for the Chiefs as they fell further behind when, following the concession of another cheap penalty, the hosts used the set-piece from the left corner to drive in field, the fruits of which allowed Quins’ skipper Lewies to barge his way past Skinner and Joe Simmonds.
To their credit, the Chiefs did their best to try and salvage something from this horror show. However, try as they may, they could not find an answer as a combination of poor execution and stout defence from Harlequins hampered their every moment.
In the end, the Chiefs were just glad to hear the final whistle. This was - to all extent and purpose - an evening to forget. The good thing for them, however, is that they don’t have to wait long for a reaction of sorts.
Harlequins: N David, C Murley, J Marchant, A Esterhuizen, J Bassett (L Northmore 57); M Smith, D Care (S Steele 73); J Marler (F Baxter 69), G Head (S Riley 27), W Louw; D Lamb (I Herbst 64), S Lewies (cast); J Kenningham (L Wallace 56), J Chisholm (W Evans 64), T Lawday. Replacement (not used): S Kerrod.
Tries - Murley, Bassett, Riley, Marchant (2), Lewies;Conversions - Smith (5)
Yellow Card: Bassett
Chiefs: J Hodge; J Nowell (capt), I Whitten (T Hendrickson 50), S Kata (J Simmonds 50), O Woodburn; H Skinner, S Maunder (J Maunder 62) S Sio (D Southworth 53), J Innard (J Yeandle 50), H Williams (M Street 18); J Gray (J Dunne 50), D Jenkins; J Vermeulen, C Tshiunza (D Ewers 53), S Simmonds
Try - Innard
Yellow Card: Skinner
Referee: M Carley