Kirsten reflects on solid start
By Mark Stevens
24/9/19
Jannes Kirsten spoke of his delight after he kicked off his Exeter Chiefs career with victory in Saturday’s Premiership Rugby Cup clash with Bath at Sandy Park.
Brought in this summer from South African Super Rugby side, the Bulls, the imposing forward wasted little time in showcasing his on-field talents, producing a powerful and eye-catching display in his side’s 28-14 success.
Thrust into the Exeter engine-room alongside fellow newcomer Stan South, the 25-year-old won rave reviews in the aftermath of the game.
“It’s always a bonus to start with a win,” he said. “We’ve had a good pre-season and we’ve tried to put a few things in place to help us for the new season. It was good to get out there, especially as there are no warm-up matches, because it allow us to try a few things and see what worked and what didn’t work so well.”
With the domestic season kicking off later due to the Rugby World Cup in Japan, all top-flight clubs will be using the current four-week Premiership Rugby Cup block as ideal preparation for the start of the new Gallagher Premiership season.
“It’s always tough that first game, especially trying to get your body used to it all,” added Kirsten. “But, it the same for all the teams. We’ll all be using these games to get ready for the start of the Premiership.”
Having previously only seen Sandy Park match-days back home on TV, Kirsten said he first taste of game day in Devon proved ‘very special’.
“I had goosebumps before the game,” he said. “I loved the Chiefs cry, it was amazing. For me, the whole day was very special, especially as we started with a win as well.”
In a dominant first half display, Baxter’s side led 21-0 at the turn thanks to converted tries from Tom Wyatt, Tom Hendrickson and Olly Woodburn. Bath, however, hit back early in the second half, cutting the deficit to just seven points when they claimed tries through Levi Davis and Chris Cook.
The final quarter, though, belonged to the Chiefs and they wrapped up the bonus point when a snipe from Joe Snow saw the replacement scrum-half set up debutant Barrie Karea for a maiden Chiefs try.
“It was a tough game,” admitted Kirsten. “In the first half we scored the tries, but we also had to make a lot of tackles. I thought we did well to keep them out, but in the second half we were a bit slow starting and that allowed them to come back into the game.
“Come the end, though, we finished off quite well and we got the five points, which is all you can ask for.”
Next up for the Chiefs is Friday night’s trip to Welford Road where Leicester Tigers – defeated 57-23 at Worcester Warriors on Saturday – will be looking for a swift response to that setback.
“Leicester are a great team,” said Kirsten. “Right now, everything for me is new at this stage, so I’m looking forward to the challenge. As a team, though, we’ve got to stick to our processes and, hopefully, we will have a good game up there.”