Match Reaction - Ricky Pellow

By Mark Stevens
28/9/22

Ricky Pellow praised his young Exeter Chiefs side as they kicked off their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign with a 35-20 victory away to Bristol Bears.

Lewis Pearson’s try double, along with further touchdowns for Jack Innard and Sean O’Brien, as well as a penalty try paved the way for a notable Round One success at Ashton Gate.

Post-game, skills coach Pellow said: “We talked before the game about this being the first opportunity for us to build something special in this competition. We’ve done that tonight and to score five tries and put in the performance we did, it was very pleasing.”

In a squad which included seven debutants, Pellow was quick to highlight the effort and commitment shown across the board by his team.

“A lot of players worked extremely hard out there to produce those key components that we look for in a Chiefs player,” he added. “Sean O’Brien and Solomone Kata were outstanding in the centres, I thought Ross Vintcent was another who really stood out on his first start. The work he put in around the tackle area and the breakdown was crucial.

“Equally, Jack Innard and Lewis Pearson really led from the front, whilst someone like Rus Tuima brought the performances he has been showing on loan at the Cornish Pirates to the game tonight.

“As I said, there ere lots of encouraging signs and it was great that these boys were able to pull on a Chiefs jersey and come and play under our banner, our ethos and our philosophies. Yes, there are things to work on - we got a little scrappy at times in the second half - but we’ve gone one foot into this competition and now we will look to build over the next few games.”