Match Reaction - Ali Hepher
By Mark Stevens
3/4/22
Exeter Chiefs head coach Ali Hepher praised the impact of Scotland captain Stuart Hogg on his return from duty in the Guinness Six Nations Championship as he helped inspire a fine fightback over Bath in the Gallagher Premiership to secure a 42-22 victory at Sandy Park.
The Chiefs trailed bottom side Bath 22-7 just before the break, but converted tries from Dave Ewers and Patrick Schickerling helped turned the match on its head, and Exeter dominated the second period, scoring three more touchdowns through Billy Keast, Santiago Grondona and Hogg himself to seal an ultimately comfortable victory.
Hogg played a key part in two of the Chiefs’ tries and scored one himself near the end, much to the delight of head coach Hepher, who was quick to praise the full-back at the final whistle. He said: “His pace is outstanding and he got an opportunity to kick his goals as well. His energy and speed is right up there and he brought that energy when we most needed it.”
Looking back on the first half, one in which Bath certainly caught the Chiefs cold, Hepher added: “To come through that is quite pleasing, but what we have got to make sure is we do not put ourselves in that position in the first place. When we started to keep the ball in the second half, we started to score tries, but we were in a tough game for long periods.
“We needed to find some energy, and attack the game without the ball as well as with the ball, and we started to make breaks and give ourselves opportunities but we didn’t take them and that builds pressure. It was important to just get our heads right in a positive sense and start playing rugby.”
With Sale Sharks and Gloucester both losing this weekend, it has been a good weekend for the Chiefs. However, Hepher said: “You can’t control any of that and our focus is with ourselves, though results elsewhere are going to be important as it is a little bit out of our hands.”