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Following exciting action in Saturday’s Champions Cup final, Planet Rugby presents writer James While he has written his five takeaways from the exciting contest.
Efficiency
Impressive pace, dramatic game changes, and sheer commitment from two talented sides are always ingredients for a high-quality rugby show and that’s exactly what we got when Exeter managed to beat Racing 92, 31-27 at Bristol to become in European Champion. .
With 15 minutes elapsed, it felt like a walk in the park for the Chiefs as Sam Simmonds, the EPRC Player of the Year, approached from a short distance. However, a Racing comeback led by standout Bernard le Roux and Camille Chat saw them dominate the mid-game period with Simon Zebo rewarded with a couple of attempts.
The biggest difference between the two sides, in simple terms, was efficiency. Exeter’s ability to cross the line from close range once again characterized his game and Harry Williams’s hammer blow from the short-distance try in injury time in the first half showed his awareness and commitment to play until the last second.
The Chiefs had firepower in all areas of the field, unlike Racing, which relied almost exclusively on Virimi Vakatawa and Zebo for their carries and yards, with a little support from Chat. Exeter’s front line was clinical and dominant, their defense was organized and intelligent, combining the powerful runs of Vakatawa.
In short, a great final and taking into account the interruptions of the last six months, an authentic party of pure rugby that moved everyone who saw it.
Mistakes
Despite Exeter’s efficiency, Finn Russell’s comical, but sometimes fickle performance in mid-flight, combined with some eccentric substitutions, cost Racing dearly.
Despite all the clamor about Russell’s attacking ability in the upper middle, the basic role of a 10 is to win games.
His speculative and sometimes reckless handling cost his team at least 14 points and his inability to maximize the dominance of the clear win line created by his forwards and Vakatawa proved that as a high-quality game manager, he is not. not near the finished item. His supporters will aim for a pair of brilliant passes, his detractors will highlight 78 minutes of regrettable game management, tactics based on opportunism rather than structure and a lack of awareness that did not show thinking about a drop-goal play against the Chiefs. posts with four minutes to go.
His naïveté on the pitch was compounded by the unfortunate tactical substitutions of Racing 92’s most prominent players: the immense Le Roux, who was the best striker on the pitch for 65 minutes, and the pointy Chat whose power on the loose caused the Chiefs have endless headaches. . Le Roux was the heart of Racing for 65 minutes making a great personal change, dominating the collision and the lineout, aggressive in contact and almost always ‘right’ in line with the laws.
When playing a team of Exeter’s caliber, you can hardly allow one mistake, much less the catalog of mistakes displayed by Russell and the team management and, in a game of thin margins, simply put, their litany of mistakes will give you the game cost him. .
🗣️ “Simmonds is the fourth English player in five years to receive the Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy after Saracen trio Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell and Alex Goode.” #HeinekenChampionsCup
🏴 Exeter Chiefs’ Sam Simmonds crowned best in Europe. 👇https: //t.co/nefIctvBiS
– Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 18, 2020
Anonymous heroes
The bosses have always been a sum greater than the parts in the eyes of many people, a testament to Rob Baxter’s outstanding management culture and structure.
But on a day when a pair of international firecrackers turned into jets of water, the real stars were Exeter’s less-than-champion players. Up front, loose-headed prop Alec Hepburn was unlucky not to be named best player of the match as he destroyed his opposite number Georges-Henri Colombe, winning penalty after penalty in scrum time and still taking the energy to gallop around loose exchanges like a fourth rower. Dave Ewers was the go-to man for Exeter to advance over and over again, racking up 13 powerful carries.
Jonny Hill didn’t have it all his way at the lineout, with Le Roux pushing him all day but, in close exchanges, the mountain man was a force of nature, relentlessly drifting away from ruck after ruck. Now you must have your chance internationally, having answered all the questions about your physique.
In the back, Ian Whitten, the silent man of steel, put on a defensive performance of the highest level, while Tom O’Flaherty from 60 meters from distance 10 speaks volumes of his importance to the Chiefs’ attacking ambitions. .
The right direction
Above all, Exeter becoming European champions is a reward for a club that is doing things the right way.
The culture that Rob Baxter and his coaching team have created is one of fun: Sandy Park is a place where players stay to have fun and play with each other. While some big names come and go, every player who passes through Baxter’s hands seems to improve, to become a better rugby player.
It’s a club built on real foundations – honesty, integrity, enjoyment and a sense of justice – something Exeter fans are quick to remind everyone of. Your outstanding team has been built with financial compliance and is a fair reward for President Tony Rowe, a driving force alongside Baxter.
This may be the end of a 10-year journey for the club, a journey that has seen them rise to become the best. With good luck, the next 10 years may continue to be the best.
Reward
It is rumored to be an unwritten rule of Eddie Jones’ tenure as England coach that if you play for Exeter you have to do a bit more to get into the national team but, based on this season’s demonstrations, maybe the talkative Australian. You may need to review your opinion of the value some of the Bosses bring.
While his back-row options are competitive to say the least, Simmonds’ explosive form should earn him a call-up to fight Ben Earl for the number eight backup jersey. His brother, Joe, has been ahead of the chasing group of young flies and will be the frontrunner to back the established George Ford and Owen Farrell. The entire front row is a formidable unit and could get the nod en masse, with Hepburn showing great improvement in the tight and blocking, as noted, Jonny Hill has absolutely earned the right for an extended pick in association with Maro Itoje.
With Henry Slade and Jack Nowell set for any matchday 23, the future looks literally rosy for many of Exeter’s players and it’s up to Baxter, and that skill we mentioned earlier, enhancing and nurturing the talent that comes from his magic hands. . We’re expecting a massive contingent of Chiefs when Jones names his full training squad within a week and, judging from yesterday, he deserves it.
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