Exeter Chiefs
Now for Quins...
Chiefs Flag
By Exeforever
September 22 2010
The Chiefs make their way to the Stoop looking to add more valuable points to their tally.
So Far so Good, now for Quins
So far so very good in fact. Most people would have bitten your hand off if you’d offered them eight points and a moral victory from the first three games but the upward ramp probably starts here.
So how did it happen? It seems to me that there are two principal reasons. Firstly there was the fact that we were a totally unknown quantity. The Prem takes little notice of what is going on outside it unless it is looking for cheap players (Molenaar, Taylor, du Plessis, Tom Brown etc) so even the playoff victory was not going to start alarm bells ringing in Gloucester, Leeds, Sale etc. Indeed they probably believed that we would have to change the side by so much in order to compete in the Prem that it would be irrelevant to look at the play-off second leg. As we know from that play-off final so much of the game nowadays is the result of planning that I would argue that Gloucester came to SP with the unique disadvantage of not knowing what they were facing and were caught cold by it.
Leicester were equally taken aback by the fact that we didn’t just go there, lie down and die, which, apparently, is what some Prem sides have been doing. The fulsome praise that we received from Richard Cockerill and Tom Croft probably contained an element of self justification “If we nearly lost to Exeter they must be good” rather than admitting that for 60 minutes Leicester were pretty rubbish.
So Newcastle were the first side to really have to take us seriously and we nearly paid the price for the missed chances and trying to force it too much in the first half.
The second reason for our current position is that many of our rivals have substantial changes of personnel and/or Directors of Rugby and are hence still learning to come together as teams whereas we are still playing (largely) with the team that finished last season. This advantage will disappear with the passage of time and this Saturday will probably be the last chance we have to use it.
So Saturday sees the first return to Quins since the horror show there in ND1. We will be playing a side without a win which will make them both more dangerous but also, potentially, more desperate if we can get, and maintain, an advantage.
Both Quins losses have gained them losing bonus points so we are unlikely to be able to shake them off whatever happens and we will certainly have to be more clinical in our finishing than we were on Saturday and ensure that we take advantage of every visit to their twenty two. According to their own supporters they are likely to give away penalties so that Steeno will have opportunities to continue to keep us in games, the pack should be able to at least compete on equal terms and the tackling will need to be at the highest level to control their dangerous back row forwards and three quarters. Nick Evans is deadly with the boot so our discipline will need to be very tight and we will also need to understand and adapt to the referee’s interpretation of the tackle area.
The away tribe will also have a major role. The Quins crowd is loud but able to be silenced in the same way that the Welford Road crowd was. If and when that happens we have to be ready to fill the void with our tuneful (?) tomahawk chop.
Prediction time. A losing bonus point or a draw look most likely. If we can get two scores clear though, I would fancy us to hold on for the first away win for the promoted side in many years (if not ever). With Northampton, Irish and Saracens as our next three opponents we need every point we can accumulate, October could be a pretty barren month.
So how did it happen? It seems to me that there are two principal reasons. Firstly there was the fact that we were a totally unknown quantity. The Prem takes little notice of what is going on outside it unless it is looking for cheap players (Molenaar, Taylor, du Plessis, Tom Brown etc) so even the playoff victory was not going to start alarm bells ringing in Gloucester, Leeds, Sale etc. Indeed they probably believed that we would have to change the side by so much in order to compete in the Prem that it would be irrelevant to look at the play-off second leg. As we know from that play-off final so much of the game nowadays is the result of planning that I would argue that Gloucester came to SP with the unique disadvantage of not knowing what they were facing and were caught cold by it.
Leicester were equally taken aback by the fact that we didn’t just go there, lie down and die, which, apparently, is what some Prem sides have been doing. The fulsome praise that we received from Richard Cockerill and Tom Croft probably contained an element of self justification “If we nearly lost to Exeter they must be good” rather than admitting that for 60 minutes Leicester were pretty rubbish.
So Newcastle were the first side to really have to take us seriously and we nearly paid the price for the missed chances and trying to force it too much in the first half.
The second reason for our current position is that many of our rivals have substantial changes of personnel and/or Directors of Rugby and are hence still learning to come together as teams whereas we are still playing (largely) with the team that finished last season. This advantage will disappear with the passage of time and this Saturday will probably be the last chance we have to use it.
So Saturday sees the first return to Quins since the horror show there in ND1. We will be playing a side without a win which will make them both more dangerous but also, potentially, more desperate if we can get, and maintain, an advantage.
Both Quins losses have gained them losing bonus points so we are unlikely to be able to shake them off whatever happens and we will certainly have to be more clinical in our finishing than we were on Saturday and ensure that we take advantage of every visit to their twenty two. According to their own supporters they are likely to give away penalties so that Steeno will have opportunities to continue to keep us in games, the pack should be able to at least compete on equal terms and the tackling will need to be at the highest level to control their dangerous back row forwards and three quarters. Nick Evans is deadly with the boot so our discipline will need to be very tight and we will also need to understand and adapt to the referee’s interpretation of the tackle area.
The away tribe will also have a major role. The Quins crowd is loud but able to be silenced in the same way that the Welford Road crowd was. If and when that happens we have to be ready to fill the void with our tuneful (?) tomahawk chop.
Prediction time. A losing bonus point or a draw look most likely. If we can get two scores clear though, I would fancy us to hold on for the first away win for the promoted side in many years (if not ever). With Northampton, Irish and Saracens as our next three opponents we need every point we can accumulate, October could be a pretty barren month.
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Discussion started by thechiefstribe.com (IP Logged), 22/09/2010 20:45
22/09/2010 20:45
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A couple of articles from the Quins website:-
Conor looking forward to Chiefs challenge
Four to watch
Come on you Chiefs!!
Conor looking forward to Chiefs challenge
Four to watch
Come on you Chiefs!!
Exeforever:
A to the point review,but I gotta tell you I hate cold showers even when they,r good for me.I thought I had wings
till now.
But if RB and co can address the probs in the back div
I think theres a win in it for us.
A to the point review,but I gotta tell you I hate cold showers even when they,r good for me.I thought I had wings
till now.
But if RB and co can address the probs in the back div
I think theres a win in it for us.
Let the "chop" ring out across the stoop and the lads will keep doing what they do well.
RB and Ali have done a magnificent job so far and will not allow a bit of reverse psychology from Conor disrupt their thoughts.
See you all on Saturday.
Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs.
RB and Ali have done a magnificent job so far and will not allow a bit of reverse psychology from Conor disrupt their thoughts.
See you all on Saturday.
Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs.
My first ever away game, and my first on the supporters bus, and I can't wait. See you all saturday.
two buses going up according to offy.
one reason for this, no doubt, is that a jaunt up/back the m5/m4 on a saturday morning/evening is reasonably easy but probably, as well, a pointer for the way the the team are catching the imagination.
with five other away games within reasonable travelling distance lets hope the trend continues.
one reason for this, no doubt, is that a jaunt up/back the m5/m4 on a saturday morning/evening is reasonably easy but probably, as well, a pointer for the way the the team are catching the imagination.
with five other away games within reasonable travelling distance lets hope the trend continues.
I'd love to be at the Stoop, but shall watch on ESPN ( I think they're covering it ) . I expect to hear the Chop and lots of Oggy's !!
Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs!!
Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs!!
Interesting the 4 Exe players to watch - with one of them being Higgins, do Quins know something about our team selection this week that we don't? Any idea on progress re Higgins' hamstring tweak?
Is the match on ESPN? I'll have to double check! If so, wicked! If we can't beat the Quinns away on current form there aren't many away matches we can win in the Prem.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:09:23:12:24:12 by ExTeddChief.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:09:23:12:24:12 by ExTeddChief.
Quote:ExTeddChief
Is the match on ESPN? I'll have to double check! If so, wicked! If we can't beat the Quinns away on current form there aren't many away matches we can win in the Prem.
I don't think it's on, according to the ESPN website it's showing Saracens v Northampton on Saturday
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:09:23:12:42:14 by Zymurgy.
Thought so. Ah well, Radio Devon or Premiership rugbytv is is then*shrugs*
Hi guys,
The last visit we had as a team to the stoop as I am still having nightmares about. I seem to remember they put the cleaners through us when we were in the same league. I know that we have improved as a team since then and at the minute their form is not something for them to get excited about. This however is a home game infront of their fans so they will be going for it. Against the Falcons there were a couple of times it looked like our old problems re surfaced, the soft tries through midfield and we have to do something about our penalty count. Despite this Quins did throw away a 17 point lead agaomst Sale so anything is posible.
The last visit we had as a team to the stoop as I am still having nightmares about. I seem to remember they put the cleaners through us when we were in the same league. I know that we have improved as a team since then and at the minute their form is not something for them to get excited about. This however is a home game infront of their fans so they will be going for it. Against the Falcons there were a couple of times it looked like our old problems re surfaced, the soft tries through midfield and we have to do something about our penalty count. Despite this Quins did throw away a 17 point lead agaomst Sale so anything is posible.
Adam, one of the two Newcastle tries was a blatant block that the ref missed. Not soft and if our guys backed themselves more on the poortunities we created it could easily have been a 5 point win. We were without any doubt the better team.
We cannot compare this current team with the last team that lost at the Stoop. Then Quins were the big name boys with the stadium and facilities who somehow found themselves in division 1.
We were the semi-pro outfit (could be wrong) with plenty of heart but not the facilities or ground.
Now we IMHO are equal, we have the stadium, but more important we have the training and practice facilities that go with a fully pro team.
But most important this team has kept that heart. We are learning and improving. I think and hope another scare or surprise is on the cards.
We were the semi-pro outfit (could be wrong) with plenty of heart but not the facilities or ground.
Now we IMHO are equal, we have the stadium, but more important we have the training and practice facilities that go with a fully pro team.
But most important this team has kept that heart. We are learning and improving. I think and hope another scare or surprise is on the cards.
First away game on coach this week, been to a few by car! Can anyone help? Is parking available at Apple Lane for saturday?
Yeah you,ll be fine just turn up and park where you can. just dont park in my normal space lol. If you want to make a good impression with the regulars you could allways turn up with extra food or drink 
Hi He who speaks with forked tongue,
I must confess to missing the block for the Falcons try as you suggest its not always easy following the game with Binoculars. We do agree on one thing though and that is the point that we didnt back ourselves at times when we were in try scoring positions. We showed against tigers what we are about with the tries we scored, so why we could not follow that up was disappointing for me anyway. I know RB will say it was a win but as you point out we could and maybe should have been more comfortable. Hopefully we can put in a tigers type display tomorrow and get something from an away game and keep this early momentum going. The more points we can gather early on will take the strain off later.
I must confess to missing the block for the Falcons try as you suggest its not always easy following the game with Binoculars. We do agree on one thing though and that is the point that we didnt back ourselves at times when we were in try scoring positions. We showed against tigers what we are about with the tries we scored, so why we could not follow that up was disappointing for me anyway. I know RB will say it was a win but as you point out we could and maybe should have been more comfortable. Hopefully we can put in a tigers type display tomorrow and get something from an away game and keep this early momentum going. The more points we can gather early on will take the strain off later.
Can't go tomorrow. As some of you may know I watch City and occasionally the Chiefs but tomorrows game coincides with the game vs. Yeovil which is gonna be special due to the obvious reasons.
I've got a feeling the Quins will win.
I've got a feeling the Quins will win.
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