Chiefs edge out Quins

Exeter Chiefs 26 Harlequins 25

For those who don’t know, Sandy Park is one of the latest properties available on the new edition of Exeter Monopoly that was unveiled just a few weeks ago in the city.

Well, after this, maybe Rob Baxter and his Chiefs side have already used their ‘Get out of Jail’ card as they overcame fellow high flyers Harlequins in a hard-fought Aviva Premiership encounter at the Devon venue.

Fly-half Gareth Steenson led the way for the Devonians, scoring one of two tries in his own personal points haul of 21 points.

Winger James Short collected the other touchdown, his third of the season, as the Chiefs maintained their lofty status after five rounds of competition.

Harlequins, to their credit, played their part in a decent match-up – even outscoring their hosts 4-2 on the try count – as an early penalty try was followed up by further scores for Nick Evans, Charlie Walker and Tim Visser.

Evans weighed in with the remaining points on a tough day for goal kickers, but it was his replacement Tim Swiel who was left to rue two late missed chances, including a late penalty that could have snatched it for the visitors.

After a mixed fortnight of action on their return to the European Champions Cup, a return to domestic duties saw Baxter’s side up against a Quins side, who like their hosts had enjoyed a favourable first month in the Premiership.

Heading into the contest, both sides had collected three wins from a possible four, but it was the Chiefs who found themselves a further rung up the ladder, having collected an additional two bonus points along the way.

With the wind howling around Sandy Park, it was the the home side who started the contest on the front foot, breaking the deadlock inside two minutes when Steenson slotted his opening penalty after the Londoners had strayed offside following the kick-off.

Home joy proved short-lived, however, as within five minutes the visitors – who had countered initially with a series of pick-and-go raids deep inside the Exeter 22 – were awarded a penalty try as their pack shunted the home eight back at a rate of knots for the converted score.

Again poor work from the visitors again at Steenson’s restart, the Chiefs used the resultant scrum to cut the deficit as referee Matt Carley penalised Harlequins for standing up, allowing Irishman Steenson to slot a simple kick.

But no sooner had the Chiefs responded, they were again undone by their rivals, this time Danny Care’s clever grubber kick in behind allowed Evans to latch onto the loose ball for their second try of the afternoon.

Slowly, though, Baxter’s charges were beginning to find their rhythm in attack. Messrs Lees, Armand, Ewers and Waldrom did the hard yards up front, whilst behind Ian Whitten was proving an ever-willing runner through the middle.

It was decent pressure from the hosts who, after a number of charges towards the whitewash, were eventually rewarded when Steenson slotted his third penalty on 25 minutes.

Instead of building on their momentum, however, the Chiefs again allowed their counterparts to rally, stinging the Westcountry outfit with a third try on the half-hour.

This time more passive defending from Exeter allowed Harlequins to position themselves deep in the home 22, before the ball was shipped wide through Care and Mike Brown to Walker, who did enough to fend off James Short for a third try.

The tit-for-tat scoring showed no sign of abating as the game headed towards the break, Steenson on hand to slot yet another penalty for the Chiefs after Conor O’Shea’s men had been pulled up for holding on in front of their own posts.

Then, with the last action of the half, the Chiefs – having soaked up some pretty pedestrian attacking from the visitors – turned the ball over on the right-hand side, before working the ball across the field through the back division to Short, who did the rest with an impressive dart for the line.

Steenson banged over the conversion from wide on the left with the final kick to give the Chiefs a slender lead at the break.

Half time: Exeter Chiefs 19 Harlequins 17