PREM Rugby: Exeter Chiefs 3-8 Bristol Bears - Bears edge West Country scrap at Sandy Park

With the amount of rain falling across Devon, it was expected that Storm Ingrid would have a say on proceedings at Sandy Park, and a scrappy first 40 was certainly not helped by the weather. Several high kicks helped the sides get a feel for conditions and, with the wind behind them in the opening half, Bears just about had the better of it.

A few dropped catches and slips on the wet pitch meant the game struggled to settle into any kind of rhythm, and scraps between the two front rows dominated the game. This came to a head early on when Bachuki Tchumbadze and Ellis Genge shared a heated exchange after a collapsed scrum, which was very much the tale of the first half an hour.

The scoring would be finally opened by Henry Slade, celebrating his Six Nations call up by getting on the scoresheet yet again from a penalty kick, making it 3-0 to the home side. His team’s lead would be short lived however, as a spell of Bristol pressure after the restart allowed Louis Rees-Zammit to run across the defensive line in the pouring rain, before swinging a pass out to Noah Heward, who skipped a challenge and dove over the line to put Bears ahead. Tom Jordan couldn’t get the better of the wind however and failed to convert from the tee.

Chiefs pushed before the break, but a couple of rather comedic knock-ons and a long slide in the mud from Feyi-Waboso only resulted in a scrum in favour of Bears, and a tight first half came to a close with the visitors leading.

The first 20 minutes of the second half didn’t result in much more action. A strong start from the home side had them probing around the Bears try line during an extended spell of possession, with big hitters like Joseph Dweba, Andrea Zambonin and Ethan Roots looking to force a ball over, but Bristol were strong and held Chiefs at bay.

Changes followed for Bears and they gained a foothold in the second period through a series of high balls, scrums and penalties to break up Exeter’s momentum. Genge’s battle with Tchumbadze continued in the scrum, and the scrap between those two very much summed up the physical fight that this game had become.

Paul Brown-Bampoe picked up a number of high balls as we passed the hour mark, one of which he handed off to Tchumbadze to drive in field encouragingly, but the Bristol defence was resolute. One long kick from Chiefs’ Charlie Chapman caused chaos for the Bears backs, but despite pressure from Brown-Bampoe and his teammates, they could not capitalise on all their pressure.

And they were made to pay for passing up several opportunities when Matias Moroni rolled a kick through the Chiefs centres and his on-rushing teammates won a penalty on the Exeter 22 to huge cheers from the Bristol supporters. It was a massive opportunity for replacement James Williams to wrap up the points for his team with just minutes left on the clock, and he obliged from the tee. The home team huffed and puffed in the dying moments, but Bears saw out a massive victory and took the points back up the M5.

Speaking to media after the game, Exeter Chiefs coach Rob Baxter said his team failed to capitalise on Bristol’s mistakes:

“We worked extremely hard again in difficult conditions, but we’ve slipped up two or three times. Our mistakes hurt us more than their mistakes.”

“We’re in a good place; I just don’t want it to feel like we’ve lost a tight game against a good side and all of a sudden we’re not in a good place.”

The result leaves Bristol in third, leapfrogging their hosts, who drop to fifth after Leicester Tiger’s victory at Harlequins on Saturday afternoon.

15. Olly Woodburn 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso13. Henry Slade 12. Will Haydon-Wood 11. Paul Brown-Bampoe 10. Harvey Skinner 9. Charlie Chapman 1. Scott Sio 2. Joseph Dweba 3. Bachuki Tchumbadze 4. Dafydd Jenkins (C) 5. Andrea Zambonin 6. Tom Hooper 7. Ethan Roots 8. Greg Fisilau

16. Jack Yeandle 17. Will Goodrick-Clarke 18. Jimmy Roots 19. Lewis Pearson 20. Richard Capstick 21. Tom Cairns 22. Ben Hammersley 23. Campbell Ridl

15. Louis Rees-Zammit14. Noah Heward 13. Matias Moroni 12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg 11. Kalaveti Ravouvou 10. Tom Jordan 9. Harry Randall 1. Ellis Genge 2. Gabriel Oghre 3. George Kloska 4. Pedro Rubiolo 5. Joe Batley 6. Steven Luatua 7. Fitz Harding (C) 8. Viliame Mata

16. Harry Thacker 17. Max Lahiff 18. Jimmy Halliwell 19. Joe Owen 20. Santiago Grondona 21. Kieran Marmion 22. James Williams

One to keep an eye on ahead of the Six Nations, Genge summed up Bristol’s battling performance this afternoon. He often felt like he was single-handedly keeping his side in the game, and he rose to the physical challenge Chiefs posed with little issue. An excellent showing from the Bears prop in a game that was far from the attacking entertainment we often see from his team.

The whole of the Chiefs back three struggled to grapple with the conditions, but Brown-Bampoe was the best of the three. He chased kicks relentlessly, and some handling mistakes were always going to happen under the torrential rain. It’s a shame his efforts couldn’t be matched by Feyi-Waboso on the opposite wing.

Colossal in the scrum and relentless in defence, the duo of Genge and Ohgre were never going to be beaten. It was always going to take something special to beat Chiefs at home this season, but Ohgre disrupted and battled hard, and the hosts could never find their attacking rhythm. Despite the occasional loose line-out, his spirit and fight showed a different side to Bears which we haven’t seen much this season, and which will make others sit up and take notice.

Be it a high scoring classic or a physical scrap, Genge is so often at the heart of the action for Bristol Bears. He showed real grit and drive here to compete in horrible conditions with a strong Chiefs front row and ultimately come out on top. His resilience and quality will be a big asset for the Red Roses in the upcoming tournament.

The Bears 15 was on the fringes of this game for large periods, but when his opportunity presented itself, he showed great presence of mind to sprint across the pitch and pick out his teammate Heyward on his right to create the only try of the game. The visitors had to pick their moments going forward, and he made the most of his chance.

Fisilau earned his maiden call up this week but struggled to make any big impact here. His excellent performances this season have been well deserving of his international recognition, but the stubbornness of the Bears defence snuffed out any opportunities he may have had to drive forward and make things happen. The conditions certainly didn’t help and this performance by no means tarnishes what has been a great season from the Chiefs number eight.

A young man with impressive international pedigree already, Jenkins seemed to relish the scrap this afternoon. He and Zambonin competed well in the line-out where Bears have been so strong this season, and he never shied away from the physical battle. He will have better opportunities to show his abilities outside of his pure physical presence, but the Welshman’s attitude and application can never be questioned.

Jordan was tidy in what he did do but struggled to grapple with the conditions from the tee, missing a penalty and a conversion with the wind behind him, two kicks that would have been routine any other day. That is the nature of rugby at this time of year, but he will be disappointed he couldn’t add to his team’s score and wrap this game up earlier. He will be a useful option for Scotland at this year’s tournament.