Following Leicester Tigers’ 28-15 win over Exeter Chiefs, here are our five key takeaways from a gripping game at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
The top line
The sides had played out an entertaining, if cagey, game in the opening round of the Premiership season, and this game felt virtually identical.
Exeter got the day’s scoring underway with a Henry Slade penalty, but Leicester instantly responded with what can only be described as an old-school Tigers try. A scrum five metres out from the Exeter line allowed Olly Cracknell to charge at Slade, and there was no stopping him from that range.
In the essence of old school, the visitors nearly hit back with a try reminiscent of the Chiefs of old. Powerful work from the Chiefs pack pounded the Leicester defence, but a costly spill from Stu Townsend brought the attack to a halt.
After a period of kick-tennis, Leicester added their second of the day through Cameron Henderson. They nearly extended their lead on the stroke of half-time, but Pollard’s long-range effort sailed wide.
This miss came back to bite the Tigers just after half-time, as Tommy Wyatt latched on to a delicious Slade cross-field kick to score.
Momentum was now firmly with the visitors, and Wyatt made this count with his second of the afternoon after a crafty strike move.
But, just as Exeter were looking comfortable, a yellow card to Will Rigg brought them crashing back down to earth; and later helped Leicester nab the lead again as Ollie Hassell-Collins crossed out wide.
With the clock winding down, Ben Youngs put the final nail in the Exeter coffin as he scampered through a gap in the defence to score a pivotal bonus-point try.
A game of two halves
Rugby is a funny old game, isn’t it, but this was even more strange.
Leicester looked in cruise control in the first-half, with Handre Pollard running the show. Whilst they weren’t playing pretty rugby, they just generated front-foot ball with clever tactics. On top of this, their set-piece was utterly dominant and again helped them just establish their dominance in the opening 40.
The bench is a growing theme in rugby, largely due to the Springboks’ famed ‘bomb squad’, but Exeter had a bomb squad of their own in the form of Will Goodrick-Clarke, Jack Innard and Josh Iosefa-Scott.
Their introduction, epitomised by the Rob Baxter interview detailing how he had brought them on to add impact to the scrum whilst winning a penalty, helped the visitors get a foothold into the contest and just flip things around.
A yellow card to Rigg gave Leicester a lifeline back into the contest, and the 14 points scored in these 10 minutes spared their blushes as they ultimately clinched a win.
Just a funny old sport, but games like this is why we love it.
Strategist-in-Chief Handre Pollard shines
To be frank, Leicester’s attack was pretty woeful for the most part, but Pollard put on an absolute clinic to get them the upper hand.
The main part of his game was kicking out-of-hand, with his nine kicks the catalyst behind his side’s win. Exeter’s defence restricted the play, keeping Leicester to sluggish 10-man rugby, but the Springbok wizard was able to conjure up magical kick after magical kick to drive his side forward.
His high kicks into the frosty East Midlands sky were clearly designed to get the likes of Ollie Hassell-Collins and Freddie Steward – two of the best aerial operators in the Premiership – in one-on-one battles against Ben Hammersley and Josh Hodge, and they were able to just march up the pitch as a result.
Around the park too, his rugby IQ came to the fore as he led his team around the park. Once his kicks got the desired result, he deployed his charges around in just the right place to then do some damage. He also wasn’t afraid to do the dirty work himself, with his clever run fundamental in the build-up to the second try.
Whilst the second-half was dominated by the Chiefs, Pollard’s composure allowed the hosts to launch an inspired late comeback.
Rounding off a fine individual display, he knocked over four kicks from the tee.
There is a lot of speculation over his future at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, but a performance like the one today shows just how vital he is to the success of the Tigers and Leicester should do everything in their power to keep him.
Chiefs progress
Baxter has called for his side to stay in the fight, and they did exactly that today as they showed another positive step forward as they ended the Leicester curse
Like their win against Gloucester, Exeter just seemed to have this new-found focus about them in almost every area of the game. Defensively they seemed more assured and physical, even with Pollard’s kicking masterclass. Whilst they have calmed down their line-speed a touch, they still had that blitzing mentality, which stifled the Leicester pack.
In attack too, they just seemed to have a different mentality around them up front, led by the likes of Franco Molina, Ethan Roots and Greg Fisilau, and the backline also looked fairly good when given the opportunity.
Whilst they left the East Midlands with nothing to show for it, a few weeks ago this could have been a 50+ point defeat, so it’s another step forward from the Chiefs.
England watch
As always, there was plenty of English talent on show at Mattioli Woods Welford Road, and here are our key standouts from an England point of view.
Ollie Hassell-Collins continued his fine personal form of late. His aerial prowess was at the heart of their fast start, and he later added a try to round off a decent showing. Dan Cole also made a notable impact upon his entry from the bench, which was pleasing to see. The experienced prop came on when the Tigers scrum was right under the pump, but he turned things around and allowed them to get back on the front-foot.
Exeter also had some notable performances from England hopefuls too. Ethan Roots was once again at his physical best, and simply ran his blood to water in a gritty showing. Winger Tommy Wyatt was a real handful in attack too, and was a standout performer from the Exeter backline. His two tries should have Steve Borthwick gleaming too.
