Time to take stock...
Moorsman
By Moorsman
November 8 2010
A look at Exeter Chiefs season so far.
Oh Happy Days!
Yesterdays LV= Cup defeat of Wasps was another very happy day for me and many other Chiefs supporters. I still haven't stopped grinning since May 26th and as someone recntly commented many Chiefs fans will be needing surgery to remove the smile from their faces. We're now 10 games (in all competitions) into our first campaign as a Premiership side and just about a third of the way into the 'league' section of the Aviva Premiership. So, a good time to take stock.
Saturday 4th September
Exeter Chiefs 22 Gloucester 10 (4 points)
Exeter Chiefs 22 Gloucester 10 (4 points)
The Chiefs hit the deck running and take advantage of a lackluster Glaws with Nicky Robinson forgetting to pack his kicking boots.
Saturday 11th September
Leicester Tigers 37 Exeter Chiefs 27 (0 points)
Leicester Tigers 37 Exeter Chiefs 27 (0 points)
The Chiefs take it to the Tigers in style and lead until a strong comeback in the last 20 minutes, being denied a losing bonus point in the final minutes of the game by a penalty try.
Saturday 18th September
Exeter Chiefs 22 Newcastle Falcons 17 (4 points)
Exeter Chiefs 22 Newcastle Falcons 17 (4 points)
Following the first two games expectation was high for a Chiefs victory and although this was forthcoming it was a very 'contained' performance with the Chiefs opportunities but Fortress Sandy Park stood firm.
Saturday 25th September
Harlequins 40 Exeter Chiefs 13 (0 points)
Harlequins 40 Exeter Chiefs 13 (0 points)
Quins were determined to make sure the Chiefs didn't get into any rythm and they were assisted by the Chiefs players who seemed to lack the urgency seen in earlier games.
Saturday October 2nd
Northampton Saints 27 Exeter Chiefs 21 (1 point)
Northampton Saints 27 Exeter Chiefs 21 (1 point)
The Chiefs mount a spirited fightback to gain a losing bonus point having been 27-9 down well into the match.
A dissapointing first game in Europe saw a Chiefs team composed of Squad players and Academy players fail to gel.
Rob Baxter selects a Chiefs team from the Prem starting lineup who record a battling victory in hostile surroundings.
The Chiefs go toe to toe with Irish infront of a 10,000+ crowd but miss out on a win with late penalties from Ryan Lamb.
Saturday October 9th
Exeter Chiefs 13 Montpellier 20 (Amlin Cup)
Exeter Chiefs 13 Montpellier 20 (Amlin Cup)
A dissapointing first game in Europe saw a Chiefs team composed of Squad players and Academy players fail to gel.
Friday October 15th
Bourgoin 19 Exeter Chiefs 34 (Amlin Cup)
Bourgoin 19 Exeter Chiefs 34 (Amlin Cup)
Rob Baxter selects a Chiefs team from the Prem starting lineup who record a battling victory in hostile surroundings.
Saturday October 23rd
Exeter Chiefs 9 London Irish 12 (1 point)
Exeter Chiefs 9 London Irish 12 (1 point)
The Chiefs go toe to toe with Irish infront of a 10,000+ crowd but miss out on a win with late penalties from Ryan Lamb.
Saturday October 30th
Saracens 9 Exeter Chiefs 23 (4 points)
Saracens 9 Exeter Chiefs 23 (4 points)
The Chiefs stun Saracens and record their first away win in the Aviva Premiership with a Man of the Match performance from Ryan Davis on his first start for the Devon side.
Another new competition and a new look Chiefs side selected but an outsider would have been hard pushed to identify this as a team playing together for the first time. Rob Baxter selected a totally different starting line up from that which scored the Chiefs maiden away victory at Saracens. Indeed three of the players have only been in the UK for a few weeks. Peter Kimlin flew in from Australia for a 3 month period in the search for game time in his quest for a return to the National team. Ignacio Mieres arrived from Argentina and found himself in the starting lineup with Jason Shoemark on the bench after just over a week after his arrival from New Zealand. This performance will give Rob & Co. a real headache when it comes to selection but what a great position to be
Saturday 6th November
Exeter Chiefs 29 London Wasps 6 (LV= Cup)
Exeter Chiefs 29 London Wasps 6 (LV= Cup)
Another new competition and a new look Chiefs side selected but an outsider would have been hard pushed to identify this as a team playing together for the first time. Rob Baxter selected a totally different starting line up from that which scored the Chiefs maiden away victory at Saracens. Indeed three of the players have only been in the UK for a few weeks. Peter Kimlin flew in from Australia for a 3 month period in the search for game time in his quest for a return to the National team. Ignacio Mieres arrived from Argentina and found himself in the starting lineup with Jason Shoemark on the bench after just over a week after his arrival from New Zealand. This performance will give Rob & Co. a real headache when it comes to selection but what a great position to be
So that's 10 games - 5 wins and 5 losses with 10 AP points taken from the top 5 sides in the league. A great start to the maiden campaign and every sign there is strength in depth and the Chiefs are getting stronger by the match with no tries conceded in the last three games. There's a great buzz about the club and a sense that players, coaches, management and supporters are all contributing to the results.
Next up are Cardiff Blues in the LV= before Prem action returns to Sandy Park for the visit of Leeds.
Come On You Chiefs
Time to take stock...
Posted by: thechiefstribe.com (IP Logged)
Date: 08/11/2010 21:50
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Re: Time to take stock...
Posted by: Shouts loudly in rain (IP Logged)
Date: 09/11/2010 07:03
Should that be 10 Happy Days or 0 Unhappy days , Great article mooresman, It has been a great start to the season and after last weeks game we saw that we have strength in depth. If my smile gets any bigger it will join up. Well done to all involved at the club , come on Chiefs
Re: Time to take stock...
Posted by: Hilltop Chief (IP Logged)
Date: 09/11/2010 10:34
After retuning home from a wet and very muddy County Ground having watched a pretty turgid match played at walking pace I had a couple of whiskys and fell asleep in front of the fire. I had a dream that Chiefs were playing at this fantastic new stadium on a beautiful playing surface. They had just beaten Glos in their first ever prem game. Of course it was a lovely dream, but I knew it was no more than that. I woke up with a start after another rather shocking dream in which we had just beaten Sarries at Vicarage Rd with our prop outpacing an England winger to score in the corner. Of course it could only be a dream because that sort of thing just doesn't happen in real life. After dozing off again I woke up with what felt like an electric shock running through me. I had dreamt that our second team had just beaten Wasps in the Cup. I knew it had to be the whisky and the warm fire at work. None of these dreams could ever come true. BUT THEY HAVE - THIS IS REAL!!!
Come on, tell the truth - when you were stood soaked to the skin on the terrace at the County Ground how many of you really believed that not only would we gain promotion but that we would have done so well after the long,long battle to get into the prem. Thanks Moorsman, a great review of the season so far. And the fantastic thing is,there's much more to come. Doesn't it just make you so proud to be supporting such a great bunch of guys. C'MON YOU CHIEFS!
Come on, tell the truth - when you were stood soaked to the skin on the terrace at the County Ground how many of you really believed that not only would we gain promotion but that we would have done so well after the long,long battle to get into the prem. Thanks Moorsman, a great review of the season so far. And the fantastic thing is,there's much more to come. Doesn't it just make you so proud to be supporting such a great bunch of guys. C'MON YOU CHIEFS!
Re: Time to take stock...
Posted by: Hoggy’s toupe (IP Logged)
Date: 09/11/2010 11:12
Moorsman 
Hilltop Chief
Hilltop Chief
Re: Time to take stock...
Posted by: black_otter (IP Logged)
Date: 09/11/2010 16:18
Moorsman, enjoyed your review. A quick question to everyone, which came to mind after reading Kimlin's comments on the offy site - will Rob & Co stick with their previously tries & tested strategy of resting the majority of the premiership squad for just one cup match and bringing them back in for the second match prior to the resumption of the AP?
That's kind of what happened with the 2 Amlin CC matches, and it seemed to work well in terms of our subsequent performance in the AP, pushing London Irish close at home and winning away to Sarries. However, given the performance against Wasps in the LV= Cup match, I would imagine that Rob & Co must be in two minds now - do they give the same squad another outing against Cardiff given that several players must be very close to putting a hand up for the AP XXIII, or do they switch back again to build momentum prior to the Leeds and Sale games? V v tough call
That's kind of what happened with the 2 Amlin CC matches, and it seemed to work well in terms of our subsequent performance in the AP, pushing London Irish close at home and winning away to Sarries. However, given the performance against Wasps in the LV= Cup match, I would imagine that Rob & Co must be in two minds now - do they give the same squad another outing against Cardiff given that several players must be very close to putting a hand up for the AP XXIII, or do they switch back again to build momentum prior to the Leeds and Sale games? V v tough call
Re: Time to take stock...
Posted by: 50pointer (IP Logged)
Date: 09/11/2010 16:40
Hilltop, your post brought back a lot of memories of our time at the CG, to when I first became involved in the late 70's, some good, some not so good, but I cannot put into words how proud I feel of, our club, and ALL those involved in getting us to where we are at present. While I have always been proud to be associated with Exeter Rugby Club, that pride has been growing and growing for the last few years at the realisation that something special is happening, long may it continue.
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