'There's more to come' - Hendrickson
By Mark Stevens
26/2/20
Tom Hendrickson says there is still ‘more to come’ from the Exeter Chiefs this season, despite their impressive 57-7 victory over Northampton Saints in the Gallagher Premiership on Sunday.
Rob Baxter’s side extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points as they dismantled their rivals with a powerful eight-try blast at Sandy Park.
Centre Hendrickson – making only his second Premiership start – helped lead the way in that victory, helping himself to two of the tries and putting in an impressive display alongside Ian Whitten in the Chiefs midfield.
With little to choose between either side during the opening 30 minutes, three tries before the break from Jonny Hill, Elvis Taione and Jannes Kirsten helped the Devonians to establish a 22-0 lead at the break.
Hendrickson’s first score soon after the restart ensured the try bonus point was swiftly secured, before club-mates Ben Moon, Tom O’Flaherty and Sam Simmonds – plus another from Hendrickson – helped put the seal on an emphatic win.
Despite the outcome, the New Zealand-born centre believes there are still areas in Exeter’s game which can be fine-tuned, starting with Saturday’s league trip to Harlequins (3pm).
“We set out at the start of the week to go out and put in a big performance,” said Hendrickson. “As a group we’re aware that some of our home performances so far haven’t quite been up to scratch, so it was important for us to go out and make a mark this weekend.”
Well, the Chiefs certainly made their mark, inflicting a hefty defeat on a Saints outfit, who had come into Round 10 last weekend as the closest challengers to Baxter’s side at the top of the table.
“We’re happy with the result,” added the 25-year-old. “We know Saints are a side who want to play and who like to attack, so it was important we worked hard ourselves in defence and then when we got the ball, that we kept hold of it and looked to grind them down.
“For a lot of the first half it was pretty tight, we had to work hard and we had to grind them down. The work we did in that half, you could see it made a difference in the second. We got lots of guys on the scoresheet and, as I said, we’re happy to get a performance in like that at home.”
Indeed, having suffered back-to-back losses at Sandy Park to Sale Sharks in the Premiership and Harlequins in the Premiership Rugby Cup semi-final, it was the perfect response to recent woes from the Chiefs.
“We’ve had a few tough results, but the guys were able to get some time off and since that break, we’ve come back in refreshed and we’ve been really going after teams,” explained Hendrickson. “Right now, we’re in a good place and we’re getting results. As a group, though, we do demands more from ourselves. I definitely think there is more to come from us.”
An ominous warning to rivals, especially considering Sunday’s result, but Hendrickson acknowledge he and his team-mates would need to park that success quickly and switch their attentions to that of Saturday’s impending trip to the capital.
“Like Northampton, Quins are dangerous with ball in hand,” he said. “We’re expecting them to come at us in much the same way they did in the Cup semi-final the other week. We know we will have to push them in defence, be better than we were the last time we played them in attack, and physically go after them.”