Report: Harlequins 19-13 Exeter Chiefs, 29 October 2011

It says something for the Exeter Chiefs, and particularly for their fans, that their visit to the Stoop is already a favourite fixture among Quins fans. It’s not hard to see why. Their fans are committed: the journey from Exeter to, well, anywhere is a long one, and they make it in large numbers; they are loyal to their team but unfailingly friendly; they have the best chant; and it seems that they always come to have fun and enjoy the game, regardless of the result. 

It is a great attitude, and one that is reflected on the field. Both players and fans are in this for the long haul, both literally and metaphorically. Since they first set out their Premiership totem pole with their opening day scare of Leicester, they’ve stayed true to it. They know they won’t win every game, but they will claim enough notable scalps to be secure in mid-table and build for the future. The Chiefs are a side that do their homework: they don’t (yet) have the firepower to make other teams play to the beat of their drum, but the do have the organisation and commitment to disrupt the opposition’s game. 

And how do you disrupt Quins? Deny them time on the ball. Commit to the breakdown, play up to and beyond the limit of the rules, defend hugely, and hang on to the ball yourselves. Exeter began the game with a determination to play with the ball in hand, and very rarely chose to kick the ball away. I haven’t seen the possession stats, but I would not be surprised to find that they had more. And if the game lacked spectacle, it was down to tremendous defensive organisation on both sides.

The match started brightly for Quins, as they held Exeter near the halfway line for several phases, then won a penalty which NEv duly converted. 3-0. From the restart, they chose to kick back into Exeter territory and excellent line speed in defence saw them secure a second penalty, for holding on. The resulting lineout wasn't straight, which resulted in a pair of scrums where first Quins won a free kick for an early engage, then Exeter won a penalty after Quins looked to have secured the ball. It was clear from reflink that Mr Davey knew what he was looking for at scrum time, but neither the players nor the fans seemed to and the scrums were a mess all afternoon. Exeter generally had the upper hand, though, which is something Quins will have to work on if they want to deliver on their early season promise.

Exeter broke downfield from the quickly tapped penalty, and looked to have scored for certain, but a very canny tackle from NEv, against a two-on-one, slowed the release down just enough for the defence to scramble into place. Several fast and furious phases on the Quins 5m line followed before Exeter were pinged for diving over. Quins have been defending their goal line with an obduracy that might satisfy King Leonidas of Sparta, and it served them well today.

Quins did their best to break back, Smith combining nicely with Stegmann - who always looked a threat with ball in hand but too often found himself without support. Exeter were hitting the breakdown harder and faster and Quins attacks frequently ended in turnovers. It was a measure of the physicality of the match that at 15 minutes in, both sides looked seriously tired and grateful of the water break.

Neither side seemed able to make decisive progress in open play. Quins were generally holding Exeter in defence and making yards in attack, but conceding too many turnovers to be really threatening. Exeter were dangerous on the break, at one point kicking smartly ahead to put Mike Brown under pressure deep in Quins territory, but their only real chance in the first 20 minutes was a long penalty that Mieres scuffed wide.

The pattern continued for a bit until Smith smartly grabbed onto an attempted grubber that sat up on the first bounce, and wove his way round the remains of a scrum and into Exeter territory. The move ended in a ruck, but a penalty was awarded for a high tackle on Brown. NEv duly converted. 6-0.

The next sequence of play saw Smith, Dickson, NEv and Stegmann combine nicely but at the resulting ruck an Exeter player lay on the wrong side handling the ball. Robson responded by, erm, rucking him and was rewarded with a yellow for his trouble. How the game has changed.

The average deficit from a yellow card period is supposed to be seven points. In a close game, the sight of a yellow should make the heart sink, but Quins fans could be excused getting a bit blase about them. Our net deficit during yellows this season is nil, and it stayed that way yesterday. Around the end of the Danger(less) period, the Exeter war drums started up and the fans, encouraged by Harley and Charley, began to chant "HAR-LE-E-E-QUINS", which I thought was both sporting and witty.

As George returned to the field, Quins had won a penalty for Exeter pulling down a lineout, and NEv added the points. 9-0 at half time. The second half began in similar back-and-forth style and the physicality, which had seen the Exeter scrum half substituted midway through the first half, saw Robshaw requiring treatment, Shoemark injured and replaced by Tatupu, and Tui on to replace a tiring Andress. The latter change had an immediate impact on the scrum, Mieres securing Exeter's first points from a penalty against the Quins front row which saw Marler receive a short sharp word from his captain to calm him down. 9-3

Quins made changes of their own, bringing on Gray and Big Mo for Brooker and Wallace. By now, Exeter had the Quins scrum in real trouble, forcing a knock-on at the base and winning a penalty from their own put in. Mieres converted for 9-6, but worse was to come. Exeter's Fijian centre Naqelevuki danced through the Quins line and a cover tackle with an agility belying his chunky figure, and although he was eventually hauled down, Exeter were set up for Rennie to finish an easy try. Mieres kicked the conversion and Quins were behind for the first time, 9-13.

Spurred by Dickson, who had another excellent game, Quins upped their focus and intensity. Taking the ball on the loop, he broke, passed to Brown, who passed to Stegmann, who passed to Mo, and in the ensuing ruck Exeter were caught with hands on the floor. NEv did the inevitable, 12-13.

Shortly after the restart, Quins got another penalty, which Dickson took quickly and there followed a superb passage of play in which all fifteen men played a part. Quins seemed to have decided that the solution to Exeter's slowing of the breakdown was, well, not to have a breakdown. A string of neat and sometimes outrageous offloads ended with a ruck on the Exeter line and a pop pass to Mike Brown who powered through to score with clinically brutal efficiency. NEv converted from wide. 19-13.

Job done? Quins certainly behaved as if it was. Some dull kicking tennis gave Naqelevuki a chance to break again, and he duly got within the 22 and earned a penalty from Quins for diving over. Exeter got another one from the resulting lineout, and you could understand Rob Baxter's apparent frustration that they could not earn a penalty try. But from then on, Quins stayed just the right side of Mr Davey, and having weathered multiple phases and an Exeter scrum, forced a knock on. The Quins scrum held together long enough for Robshaw and Mo to break from the base, Stegmann and Smith kicked on, chased well and the danger was over. Quins played the last three minutes in Exeter's half, but were unable to score again.

So the unbeaten record remains intact, and winning ugly is an essential for would-be champions, but I can't help feeling that Quins should have done better. The defence was stern and effective throughout, other than its inability to cope with Naqelevuki in a yard of space, but the scrum was the least composed it's been all season and aside from the short period of admittedly brilliant play that led to Quins' second half points, they seemed to be running at half-steam in attack. I've said before that Quins are vulnerable against a well-organised and committed defence, and so it proved - but they also showed that they can unlock those defences when they need to. 

As for the Chiefs, that well-organised and committed defence is the bedrock of a successful side. They've  come this far because they do the basics well, prepare for the opposition and ref as well as anyone and better than most, and have the ability to spring a surprise. Once Gonzalo Camacho slots into their squad they will have a further attackng weapon, and we were lucky he wasn't on the field this time, because he might have given them an edge. They seem to be building their squad and fanbase wisely, and I expect them to grace the Premiership for a long time to come. But they are also more ambitious than that, and if they can find a steady stream of new blood for their squad, they could be serious challengers in a few years' time.

I didn't make it to the press conference - future home reporters note that from this week it has moved from the LV= stand to the Etihad (East) stand, by reception, something I only found out after I'd worked my way over from East to West... Grrr. But it's clear from Conor's comments on the offy that he felt that Exeter were allowed too much leeway to slow the ball at the breakdown. Under the circumstances, he was pleased that the team found a way to win. Perhaps he's right. So far this season we've seen them play champagne rugby, tough it out in physical contests, decide close games with moments of inspiration, make the most of limited chances, seal games with rolling mauls and find a way to win even past 80 minutes. The team hasn't always played well (though as Conor says, you can't play well week in week out) but the sheer variety in the ways they've found to win is very encouraging. The season is only a quarter of the way through, and there are tougher opponents ahead, but Quins have all the tools to beat them if they can deploy them consistently.

Bring it on.