Varsity Victory Secures Perfect Home Record

Exeter secured a hard-fought 24-17 victory over Loughborough at Sandy Park to send the large crowd in attendance home happy, atoning for last season’s Varsity defeat to Durham.

It was also a significant victory for Exeter as it secured a 100% home record in BUCS Super Rugby this season, even more impressive considering it makes them the only Super Rugby side to be able to boast such a record, as well as returning to 2nd place in the Super Rugby table after Leeds Beckett’s 21-15 victory over Cardiff Met earlier in the day.

Entering into a cauldron of noise and a raucous atmosphere Exeter started on the front foot, building some well-structured phases before coughing up possession. On 7 minutes, the vociferous crowd had their first major incident to shout about as Arthur Relton scooped up a loose ball and raced clear, appearing to be body-checked by the covering Loughborough defenders after kicking through.

This allowed Exeter to build momentum and pressure, camping themselves 5m out from the Loughborough line. In fairness to Loughborough, they produced a phenomenal defensive set under immense pressure for an almost 10-minute spell, stripping Harry Bazalgette in contact after a series of scrums to allow Owen Waters to put in a fine clearance kick.

It wasn’t until the 20th minute that Loughborough were able to fire any shots of their own and they immediately set about doing what Exeter couldn’t by burrowing over the line. After an initial crossfield kick from Waters to Pope, the fly-half produced another fine kick to pin Exeter 10m out from their line. Exeter’s lineout has been a cause for concern at times this season and it fell apart here, Loughborough securing an overthrow through Obano, before building the phases and powering over the line. Waters’ successful conversion opened up a 7-0 advantage for the visitors.

It almost got worse minutes later, with Waters’ kicking out of hand oozing confidence and class. Following Exeter’s restart, the fly-half found space in behind the Exeter defence with a sumptuous kick for winger Will Brown to chase. Fortunately for Exeter, Bazalgette was alert to the danger, tracking back to kick the ball into touch and avert the danger.

It wasn’t until the 33rd minute that Exeter finally got on the board, Harry Bazalgette slotting a routine penalty after Loughborough were caught off their feet. It began a 7-minute spell were Loughborough’s indiscipline allowed Exeter to slowly claw their way back into the game.

Two minutes after his first, Bazalgette notched his second penalty from a similar distance following a dominant Exeter scrum. Loughborough attempted to finish the half on the front foot, Charlie Wright putting in a crunching hit to stop the attack and force scrum-half Alex Glashan to kick. In amongst the confusion of the bouncing ball, several Loughborough players strayed offside, allowing Bazalgette to find touch in the Loughborough 22. From there, Loughborough second-row Cameron Boon was penalised for playing the nine, Bazalgette adding the three for a narrow 9-7 lead at half-time.

Exeter started the second half on the front foot but Loughborough soon settled into their rhythm that had sucked the life out of Exeter so much in the first half, pouncing on loose balls and mistakes. They almost had an opportunity to score early, as another kick through from Waters found daylight in Exeter’s backfield, Arthur Relton doing superbly to track back to relieve the pressure, before a crucial turnover from Joe Elderkin allowed Yarnell to clear.

The first of two crucial, game-deciding moments occurred just two minutes later, as scrum-half Will Yarnell brilliantly read a Loughborough attacking play, seizing upon an inside ball from Loughborough centre Nathan Pope to streak clear from halfway and dot down near the posts, much to the delight of the Sandy Park crowd. Despite a surprisingly missed conversion by Bazalgette, Exeter opened up a 14-7 advantage.

The game then entered somewhat of a lull, both sides attacks struggling to break down the defences, Exeter’s aerial supremacy allowing them to keep Loughborough at arms-length. Exeter continued to probe and put themselves in promising positions. However, much to the frustration of those in attendance, the attack continued to misfire, floated balls out wide zipping over the head of the intended recipient and uncharacteristic knock-ons disrupting any real flow or rhythm to Exeter’s play.

On 71 minutes, Bazalgette opened up a 10-point advantage, the ball creeping over the crossbar after Loughborough were penalised for holding on following a superb tracking tackle from Arthur Relton.

Exeter allowed Loughborough straight back into the game though as, following a Loughborough scrum, replacement scrum-half Pietro Di-Chio took his eye off opposite number Alex Glashan and allowed him to break free down the blindside. Despite a typically robust tackle from fullback Charlie Davies, Loughborough again reverted to their forward pack, crashing over from close range. With Waters’ conversion, the score stood at 17-14 with six minutes to go.

This seemed to spark Exeter back into life as, three minutes later, returning winger Luke Mehson darted over for a stunning solo score. After Exeter had won back the ball from the kick-off, Exeter drew in the Loughborough players, before Bazalgette spotted the narrowness of the defence, a looping pass out to Mehson finally going to hand. From there, it was pure class from the winger as he burst down the wing, riding a tackle attempt from Pope and accelerating again, stepping outside of fullback Will Kaye and stretching for the score. Bazalgette atoned for his earlier conversion miss with a simple kick to reassert a 10-point advantage, much to the relief of the crowd.

Loughborough were to have one last say in proceedings, after a penalty at the ruck allowed them to camp themselves in the Exeter half. With the clock in the red, Bazalgette received a yellow card for a high tackle on fullback Kaye. This misdemeanour allowed Waters to slot a penalty to secure the visitors a well-deserved losing bonus-point for their efforts, with a final score of 24-17.

It was a significant result for Exeter who, despite being somewhat short of their best, were still able to secure the points. At this stage in the season, winning is all that matters as the season reaches its climax, keeping Exeter 1 point clear of third placed Leeds Beckett with just two rounds of the regular season to go.

There were several strong performances for Keith Fleming’s men, Charlie Davies supreme as ever in the air, and George Strainge putting in a huge 70-minute effort at prop. The last mention though, should be reserved for Luke Mehson, who’s individual turn of brilliance proved to be the defining moment in what had been a cagey and at times nervy 80 minutes of rugby. Exeter will still have concerns over the lineout and will be desperate to get the attack functioning again with the same precision it had earlier in the season.

For now though, it is time for the side to relax and reflect on a Varsity success that sent the home supporters home in fine spirits, before attention turns next week to an away fixture with Swansea.