Match Reaction - Ali Hepher

By Mark Stevens
19/9/22

Delighted Exeter Chiefs head coach Ali Hepher praised his side for not allowing off-field matters distract them in their latest Gallagher Premiership victory over Worcester Warriors at Sixways.

It was not until late on Friday that official confirmation came through that the scheduled Round Two fixture would even take place.

With the future of the Midlanders very much up in the air, the Chiefs impressively stuck to task to make it back-to-back wins in the top flight, courtesy of their 36-21 triumph.

Richard Capstick led the way for the visitors with two tries, whilst there were further touchdowns for Olly Woodburn, Jack Maunder and Joe Simmonds, who also slotted four conversions and a penalty.

In reply, the Warriors countered with converted scores from Alex Hearle, Gareth Simpson and Ollie Lawrence, but it was never enough to dent the Chiefs, who sit second in the standings.

Post-game, Hepher was quick to praise the efforts of his team, saying: “100% that was a great win. We always have a tough game up here and we knew they would be motivated today and that they’d fly at us, which they did.

“We started the game very well and did a lot of good things in the first half. If we’re honest, we slipped off a couple of things in the second half, which allowed them back into the game a bit. The pleasing thing, however, was we bounced through those periods well and came back strongly and got the scores when we needed them. If you look at the end, we still had plenty in the tank.”

Exeter’s success meant they were able to follow up their opening day victory over defending champions Leicester Tigers and maintain their unbeaten start to the new campaign.

“As I said, we knew they would come out fighting and play with lots of spirit,” added Hepher. “Hopefully, things will pan out for them, because we do love coming here. It’s always a tough game, as it was today, and we’re delighted to go home with the win.”

The second half certainly showed that the Warriors are not prepared to go down without a fight, but Hepher was encouraged with large parts of what he saw from his own side on the day.

“When we did the right things, that’s when we looked good and scored our points,” he continued. “There was a period there in the second half when we went off script a little, but when we got into the right areas and when we stuck to system, we took our chances.”

Next up for the Chiefs is Sunday’s visit of Harlequins to Sandy Park, a game Hepher expects to be another huge challenge for his side.

“Look, they’re a good side,” he warned. “If you look at the two match-ups, it’s always close between us. Hopefully, we defend a bit better than last time they were at our place, but for now let’s enjoy this result and then look to Harlequins when we come back in on Tuesday.”