Two for the price of one at Sandy Park

This isn’t so much a review of the yesterday’s match, more a review of yesterday.

I arrived at Sandy Park just after the academy game had started and two things struck me; firstly the lack of people in the crowd and secondly, (and this struck me after about  twenty minutes) how cold it was. I watched until half time when the cold beat me. For me the highlights of the first half were the absurdity of the tannoy playing the upbeat jingles after Leicester has scored a try and then also when they converted it – have you noticed that if you take the “t” off tannoy you get annoy? I also heard Rob Cowling , sitting near the top of the stand telling the ref what he thought of things. In this respect he was more than a match for John Baxter, and if the two ever shouted in unison then it could be really interesting.  I did see the last ten minutes or so of the match which the South West Academy lost 7 -1 7. Michael Stupple looked good despite being yellow carded.

It was just as cold when the main feature started but with a fuller stand, the wind chill factor was not as evident. I think that the reception that we gave to Coventry when they entered the field was as warm as I have seen and was great to witness.  There is no such thing as a bad try for Exeter but the two first half ones by Hadyn Thomas and Phil Dollman  were good ones, with Paul McKenzie making the first with superb break.

My heart was in my mouth as I watched Danny Gray field .. eventually .. a Coventry kick  and get it away from our try line near the end of the first half, the 18 – 8 half time score could so easily have been a lot closer.

The second half saw some excellent forward play, our pack pushing back their Coventry opposite numbers with relative ease on a number of occasions. Our line outs were solid, Simon Alcott’s throws being accurate as Neil Clark’s had been the previous week. Chris Budgen’s hand off to score his third try in as many games was worth the entrance money alone. With three tries for the forwards and three for the backs this was a great game for all.

I would be lying if I did not say that I was disappointed when Coventry scored near the end but it was certainly no more than they deserved – Drew Locke had a great game for the Midlanders and will certainly be noticed if he can make that sort of performance on a regular basis. Like everyone else I hope that they can sort things out off the pitch – the guys on it deserve that.

After the match I went home, to warm up and get changed for the evening’s events. The wife and I arrived back at the stadium just after seven pm when the players Christmas party was in full swing in the main bar. Judging by the stickiness of the floor and the by the way in which a number of people were swaying, the bar takings should have been good! My better half and I then went up to the Friends Christmas bash. Again more money raised for the club by having any enjoyable time – Topsham School choir were, once again great – as was the company and the food.

When it was time to draw the raffle we were joined by Rob Baxter, Ali Hepher and Chad Slade. Chad was in fancy dress by this time and appeared as an American Footballer, complete with grease paint (I’ll try to get the photo linked to here). Rob gave a short speech, which as usual was thoughtful. To try to sum it up is difficult, but I’ll try. The players are the heart beat of the club and players like Chad don’t always make the news but they do make the hits at breakdowns which let other players make the news. With Rob it’s not just what he says but how he says it, you can’t tell from this, but it was a good speech.

A little later many of us watched the player’s board their coach bound for an Exmouth nightclub – all in fancy dress. I am not sure if the player in the dog suit (or at least some sort of animal) made use of a tree because he was in character or because he needed to. The prize for the most elaborate costume should have gone to Clive Stewart-Smith, for what appeared to be a post box. The players certainly seemed very happy as the bus pulled away, as both they and we should be. I have deliberately shied away from constructive criticisms this week – the season of good will and all that. We certainly have one hell of a squad, with our rested players we should overcome Plymouth next week, but it won’t be easy not should it be.

Thank you Exeter Rugby Club and the Friends of Exeter Rugby Club for a good day’s entertainment yesterday.

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