Sedgley Park

V

Exeter Chiefs

Saturday 15^th December 2007

KO 2.30pm

With Sedgley Tigers currently bumping along just above the relegation zone the Chiefs should on the face of it view this game as a 5 pointer waiting to be achieved, however a closer look at the Tigers results of late suggest there are reasons for only guarded optimism from the Chief’s faithful.

Tigers started the campaign well claiming 2 wins in September, with 3 losses two of which were by margins of less than 3 points. October showed a marked downturn in fortunes with 4 straight losses, however since that time results have improved with their defence showing up well. With the exception of the points put past them earlier in the year by Chiefs 48, Saints 59, and Knights 47, Tigers have managed to stay in touch with their opponents gaining 6 losing bonus points along the way.

Scoring sufficient points seems to be more of a problem with their top two try scorers Jon Skurr (no 8) 6 tries and Jan Van DeVenter (no 11) 5 tries, this as compared to Chief’s favourites Josh 11 and Luffy 10 tries apiece.  Kicking duties fall to Phil Jones with 109 points this year so far. Nonetheless their points conceded bares comparison with sides higher up the table and makes them a potential banana skin for the underprepared. That and the prospect of a rain sodden pitch at Park Lane may just be the leveller required to produce an upset.

In the event that the weather and the pitch conspire against the Chiefs and their new expansive style there are few people better than coach Rob Baxter (The master of the mud) to craft a forwards based victory.

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