Chiefs lose to Tigers but they were still grrrreat!

Seven days previous, Toby Flood left Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium licking his wounds as he and his fellow England colleagues saw their Six Nations dream end in tatters to a rampant Welsh side.

However, present day and the Leicester Tigers No.10 was back smiling again as his 12-point haul – courtesy of four penalties – helped the East Midlanders claim victory in a hard fought Aviva Premiership encounter at Exeter Chiefs.

Having exchanged three penalties with opposite number Gareth Steenson in the first period at Sandy Park, the 27-year-old landed a telling blow just ten minutes from time to keep Richard Cockerill’s side firmly fixed in the top two of English rugby’s premier competition.

Even then, Steenson – the star attraction in Exeter’s previous outing at Harlequins – could have snatched a share of the spoils for the Devon club. However, his last-minute shot at the target fell agonisingly short of the sticks, much to the relief of the East Midlanders, who became only the second team this season to triumph at Sandy Park in the Premiership.

Buoyed by back-to-backs win over London Welsh and defending champions Harlequins in their previous two games, the Chiefs were dealt an untimely double blow ahead of kick-off as two of their key performers were ruled out for varying reasons. Fijian star Sireli Naqelevuki was chalked off after he failed a fitness test on his knee, while all-action James Scaysbrook was another absentee after his wife Louise went into labour hours earlier with the birth of their second daughter.

Naqelevuki’s void in the midfield meant Kiwi centre Jason Shoemark was drafted in to partner another new dad, Phil Dollman, whilst Dave Ewers (pictured) was elevated from the bench as he was handed his first-ever top flight start in the back-row.

Leicester, meanwhile, were boosted by the return of all their star names from the Six Nations, including skipper Flood; the Youngs brothers, Tom and Ben; Geoff Parling, Tom Croft, Dan Cole, Manu Tuilagi, as well as experienced Italian prop Martin Castrogiovanni on the bench.

For the full match report go to: http://www.exeterchiefs.co.uk/news/chiefs-9-tigers-12/