Match Reaction - Ali Hepher

By Mark Stevens
5/3/23

Exeter Chiefs head coach Ali Hepher offered few excuses for his side’s showing as they were down 40-5 by Harlequins in Big Game 14 at Twickenham.

Inspired by England fly-half Marcus Smith, the Londoners ruled supreme in the nation’s capital, producing a dominant display that the Chiefs simply could not handle.

Tries from Cadan Murley, Josh Bassett, Sam Riley, Joe Marchant (2) and Stephen Lewies were the highlights for the hosts, who have now won all three encounters between the two clubs at the home of English Rugby.

In reply, the Chiefs – who trailed 26-0 at the break – claimed a second half score through hooker Jack Innard, but that was a rare highlight on a bleak afternoon for the Devonians, who have now slipped to eighth in the Gallagher Premiership standings.

Reflecting on the performance, a disappointed Hepher said: “It’s a tough one to talk for all of us, but the players especially are the ones who will be hurting the most. They have tried their hardest, but not necessarily in the right direction. What we have to do is reset, move forward and get ourselves ready for what will be a huge game against Newcastle next week.

“When you look at today, we clearly can make things a lot easier by the way we not only attack the game, but the pace that we play the game. At the same time, you have to give credit to Harlequins. They flew out of the blocks, brought a lot of pace, different variations, attacked the breakdown – both in attack and defence – so hats off to them. I thought they put in an all-round performance and they deserved the win.”

Having come into the game on the back of some notable form, the Chiefs appeared to freeze on the big stage and it was their rivals who capitalised to take a notable victory for themselves in the race for the end of season play-offs.

“We had opportunities early in the game, which we didn’t grab,” added Hepher. “We then got hit with a sucker punch, where we gave away a penalty, they chipped over the top and they are dangerous when they get in behind you. For us, I guess the big learn is that we have to operate at a different speed and that we need to get ourselves emotionally running at a different speed and attack in a different manner.

“After any game there are always things you can learn. As coaches it’s important we get the right messages across this week and that we hit the field in a better frame of mind but, at the same time, also add in that bit of quality that we need moving forward.

“I am sure when we look back through the match again there will be moments where we have done well and players who have had great moments. I thought Jacques Vermeulen really stood up and carried well – and there will be other bits that we can work with. Equally, we have to be honest with our feedback and point our errors and look to improve for next week and beyond.

“We need to dust ourselves off, reflect a bit on today, then by the time we come back in on Monday be ready for what will be a really intense week which, we hope, will put us in the right frame of mind to attack Newcastle next week.”