Slade settles for draw
By Mark Stevens
15/10/18
Henry Slade insists Pool Two in this season's Heineken Champions Cup is 'wide open' after Exeter Chiefs opened up their European campaign with a 10-10 draw against Munster Rugby.
Storm force winds in Devon meant the mouth-watering match-up at Sandy Park was the proverbial game of two halves, but it was the Chiefs who came within a whisker of snatching a vital victory in the dying minutes.
With the two sides deadlocked as the match clock went into the red, it was the home side who had the hammer down in attack, looking to strike a telling blow against their Irish visitors.
In the end, Munster's defiant rearguard action held firm as the Chiefs coughed up possession after 22 phases, allowing French referee Jerome Garces to bring an end to proceedings in front of a capacity crowd.
Post-match, England international Slade admitted it was somewhat mixed feeling for him and his team-mates, who remain unbeaten in all competitions this season.
"I suppose being at home it feels like two points dropped," said the Chiefs centre. "It's disappointing not winning, but at the end of the day we got two points from the game. The competition is still wide open, there are plenty of games to play to get more points, and Munster are a top side.
"They were very competitive, very good at the breakdown and maybe the learn for us coming out of the game is that they brought a speed and an intensity we're not used to see often in the Premiership. That will probably be the biggest learn for us to take from today moving forward."
With Storm Callum battering the region over the weekend, Slade felt the Chiefs failed to make the most of the strong wind at their backs in the opening half, even though they led 10-3 at the break thanks to a converted try from hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and a penalty from fly-half Gareth Steenson.
Munster dominated territory and possession for much of the second half, eventually drawing level with a converted try from No.8 CJ Stander. In the final quarter both sides pressed for victory, but defences ruled and a share of the spoils was probably the fairest outcome.
"It was tough out there," added Slade. "That was probably one of the windiest days I've played in here. Every time you coughed up ball, you knew it was coming back at you. Second half I thought we carried the ball well and we showed some really good endeavour. Our first half, though, wasn't quite what we wanted and that was disappointing.
"Now, we've got to get ready for a trip to France next week. Castes, we know, will be another big test for us, then we've got Gloucester back-to-back in December, so there is lots of games to play and lots of points to try and get."
The Chiefs will assess the fitness of forwards Dave Dennis, Sam Skinner and Dave Ewers ahead of Saturday's trip across the Channel. All three were forced off during Saturday's bruising encounter, although Ewers did return to the field late in the game after passing HIA checks.