Eddie Jones starts work as England’s head coach this week and Exeter will be among the clubs he will be paying close attention to after the Chiefs did not flap playing into the strong wind against one of their play-off rivals to remain second in the table behind Saracens.
It was not a day for Exeter’s England backs Henry Slade and Jack Nowell to don their finery but at forward the flanker Dave Ewers stood out, once dumping Chris Robshaw unceremoniously to the floor, while his fellow back-rower Tom Johnson, who won his eight caps under Stuart Lancaster, was named man of the match, despite coming on at half-time and spending the final four minutes in the sin-bin.
“There is a new England coach but what remains the same for players is that they have to focus on their club form,” said Johnson. “There are guys in our squad who will be glad it is a fresh start because they will be able to put their best case forward: everyone is on an even playing field and we have a number of players who will be in contention.
“Dave Ewers has been up there for a few years and was unlucky to miss out on the World Cup, something that may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for him. The backs have been playing really well and you can see the confidence of Henry and Jack, while Will Chudley [the scrum-half] is our unsung hero, keeping things ticking along. I do not know Eddie Jones but he is an experienced coach and I am sure he will get it spot-on.”
It was a blustery, wet afternoon when both teams were more effective playing into the wind. Exeter did lead at the break, having been given first use of it, but they had conceded three tries before finishing the opening period with a James Short try after Quins felt Thomas Waldrom had forced Mike Brown to spill the ball while on the floor. The visitors left with two bonus points, having shown a hard edge to go with their sharpness that was lacking last season.
Robshaw, as captain for the past four years, will be the first player Jones speaks to and while his time as England’s No7 will end if the new coach identifies a foraging flanker, he showed that his international career is far from spent. He was involved in all aspects of the game,carrying and linking effectively, and he won the penalty for Harlequins four minutes from time that put Johnson in the sin-bin and gave Tim Swiel the chance to win the match only for the wind to defeat the replacement outside-half.
“I hope people take a long, hard look before they start writing Chris off,” said Conor O’Shea, the Harlequins director of rugby. “He has been one of the outstanding back-row forwards in this country for many a year. I don’t normally single out players but he made yards today when you didn’t think he could, he was turning the ball over, he was tackling, he was working. I am bitterly disappointed by the result but incredibly proud of the performance.”
Quins had the hooker Dave Ward on the openside and, with Robshaw at six and Nick Easter at No8, had the dominant back row in the opening half. “Ward looked an out-and-out poaching seven, like George Smith,” said Johnson, “while you always know after you have played against Robshaw that you have been in a battle. There is a lot to be said for having a selfless player in the back row, delivering wherever he plays. Quins know what he brings to their team.”
Exeter Dollman; Nowell, Slade, Whitten, Short; Steenson, Chudley (Lewis, 78); Hepburn (Moon, 50), Yeandle (capt; Taione, 14), Low (Brown, 50), Lees (Parling, 64), Welch, Ewers, Armand (Johnson, ht), Waldrom.
Tries Short, Steenson. Cons Steenson 2. Pens Steenson 4.
Sin-bin Taione 61, Johnson 76.
Harlequins Brown; Walker, Lowe, Sloan (Hopper, 49), Visser; Evans (Swiel, 56), Care (capt); Marler (Lambert, 60), Buchanan, Sinckler (Collier, 48), Horwill, Twomey, Robshaw, Ward, Easter.
Tries Penalty, Evans, Walker, Visser. Con Evans. Pen Evans.
Referee M Carley (RFU). Attendance 11,471.
