Exeter live the dream and rugby’s the winner
Wasps 20pts
Tries: Gopperth 41, Daly 44
Conversions: Gopperth 41, 45
Penalties: Gopperth 18, 54
Exeter 23pts – After Extra Time
Tries: Nowell 14, Dollman 28
Conversions: Steenson 15, 29
Penalties: Steenson, 64, 80, 98
THIS was a victory not just for Exeter Chiefs but for English club rugby.
This was an epic Premiership final, a cliffhanger which went to extra-time and was wrenched off Wasps only in the 97th minute thanks to a penalty by Exeter's dauntless fly-half and driving force, Gareth Steenson.
It gave the Chiefs the first Premiership title in their history, and was a vindication of the much tampered with promotionrelegation system which gives clubs like Exeter the right to dream.
That Exeter realised those dreams at Twickenham in a final contested by two teams which gave no quarter and asked for none on a sweltering spring Saturday was entirely down to their own ambition and unbreakable will.
However, as they eventually hammered Wasps to a standstill before being awarded the scrum penalty which decided this 100 minute marathon, it is worth reflecting that if the ring-fencers had had their way this team of battlers from Devon would never have reached the Premiership seven years ago, let alone the Premiership final.
Their rise under the inspired coaching of Rob Baxter has been nothing short of remarkable, and they were worthy winners despite having to dig themselves out of a deep hole when they trailed 20-17 with only 84 seconds of normal time left to play.
It was a cruel twist of fate that their benefactor was the blockbusting Nathan Hughes. The Wasps No.8 had hardly put a foot wrong until he failed to stop digging for a turnover after being warned by the referee. With the deadly Steenson levelling the account at 20-20 the match moved into extra-time, and when play resumed it was soon clear that it was Wasps who had less left in the tank than the Devon men.
Although Wasps left everything out on the pitch in an effort to turn the tide of white jerseys, having lost to Saracens last season, the Chiefs simply refused to be denied twice in succession. They also had a critical advantage at the scrum which reaped them rewards on the scoreboard time and again, and was also the basis for the momentum which saw them eventually drain the energy reserves from Wasps to end the deadlock after extra-time interval.
When Michele Campagnaro and Sam Simmonds were held up over the line with 96 minutes played the Wasps scrum was on the rack again. Fielding their third tight-head of the encounter, with loose-head Simon McIntyre pressed into service on the other side of the scrum after Marty Moore had been forced off in the opening minutes of extra time, they were not in ideal shape to repel the 5 metre scrum.
When, on the third re-set, the Wasps front row collapsed the referee gave Exeter their reward for a dominant scrum with the penalty that a marksman of Steenson's calibre was never going to miss. When he hit the target there was an element of justice being done, and as Exeter played keep-ball to run down the remaining minute you could not help but reflect that it is surprising that a side coached by a former tight-head of the calibre of Dai Young has an Achilles heel at the scrum.
If there is any one factor which cost them the title when it came to the hardknockings at the end of the season it was this set-piece shortcoming.
With their leading tighthead Jake Cooper-Woolley struggling with persistent injuries and unavailable for either the final or semifinal the Wasps scrum had the look of a holding operation – and Baxter had primed his pack to go for the jugular.
It paid off when Phil Swainston, the Wasps starting tight-head, was penalised for releasing his bind in the opening minutes, putting his side at an immediate disadvantage as the Chiefs kicked for the corner and had a first crack at launching their seige-machine driving maul.
Then, with 12 minutes played a Wasps scrum collapse saw Exeter kick to the corner again, before scoring a beautifully choreographed set-piece try. A line-out deflection by Kai Horstmann to Luke Cowan-Dickie saw the hooker run straight infield before a delicate switch to Jack Nowell allowed the England wing to cut through and arc round Josh Bassett for the opening try.
With Steenson converting Chiefs led 7-0, and although Wasps got off the mark thanks to a Jimmy Gopperth penalty to trim it to 7-3, it was not long before their scrum fault-line was exposed again. After they were shunted backwards and penalised again – Swainston was forced off with a head injury – another scrum yielded the Chiefs second try. It stemmed from a powerful run by Ollie Devoto, and when Phil Dollman came up fast on the centre's shoulder to take the offload the Wasps defence was scuppered. With Steenson adding the extras Wasps trailed 14-3.
With Wasps forced into errors by the Chiefs swarm defence they were in desperate need of inspiration, and it arrived in the final minute of the half when Danny Cipriani made a darting run before his inside pass put Tommy Taylor through, and quick hands to Dan Robson saw the scrum-half send Gopperth racing in.
When Gopperth kicked the conversion to narrow the half-time deficit to 14-10, Exeter had good reason to feel short- changed. When Wasps followed that with a firecracker of a try in the opening minutes of the second-half feeling aggrieved was replaced by consternation.
MATCH STATS…
WASPS v EXETER
2 Tries 2
2/2 Conversions 2/2
2/2 Penalties 3/3
100% Kicking success 100%
0 Drop-goals 0
29 Kicks from hand 27
167 Passes 244
135 Runs 222
31% Possession 69%
31% Territory 69%
526 Metres run with ball 730
10 Clean breaks 5
14 Offloads 7
88/90 Rucks won 191/197
18 Turnovers conceded 21
272 Tackles 87
27 Missed tackles 17
91% Tackling success 76%
8 Scrums won 9
0 Scrums lost 1
11 Lineouts won 16
1 Lineouts lost 1
12 Penalties conceded 8
0/0 Yellow/red cards 0/0
Attendance: 82,000
Referee: JP Doyle
A move started by Matt Mullan saw the ball spirited to Christian Wade via Daly and Gopperth, putting the Wasps wing in a one-on-one with the formidable Olly Woodburn. He opted to chip-and-chase, and when the bounce jack-knifed back over his head and Woodburn's the ball fell perfectly for Elliot Daly, who scored untouched.
With Gopperth converting and then adding a penalty Wasps led 20-14 and had seized the initiative. Back came Exeter, and after a Steenson penalty cut it down to 20-17 just after the hour all bets were off.
At this juncture the Chiefs muscled-up for one mighty final push. A 34- phase attack in which Nowell, Devoto, Steenson and the entire pack battered their way to the Wasps line on multiple occasions was thwarted by heroic Wasps defence marshalled by Hughes, James Haskell and Guy Thompson.
Then a probable scoring pass from Woodburn to Will Chudley was knocked down, but backwards, by Joe Simpson with only five minutes of normal time remaining. However, the Chiefs would not be denied, and when a Willie Le Roux clearance from a creaking Wasps scrum was run back, and Hughes infringed at the breakdown, Steenson stepped up.
It put the match into extra-time, and the Chiefs on the road to glory.
