Gloucester 38-22 Exeter Chiefs: home side claim fourth consecutive Premiership win
- Published
Scrum-half Chapman secured the try-scoring bonus point for Gloucester
Gallagher Premiership | |
|---|---|
Gloucester: (19) 38 | |
Tries: Rees-Zammit, Carreras, Socino, Chapman, Ackermann, Ludlow Cons: Hastings 4 | |
Exeter: (17) 22 | |
Tries: Maunder, Van Heerden, Hodge Cons: Skinner 2 Pen: Skinner |
Gloucester won their fourth Premiership match in a row as they beat Exeter 38-22 in front of a sold-out Kingsholm.
Louis Rees-Zammit, Santiago Carreras and Santiago Socino scored for the hosts, with Jack Maunder and Ruben van Heerden replying for Exeter, in a back-and-forth first half.
Charlie Chapman and Ruan Ackermann pushed Gloucester 14 points clear but Josh Hodge reduced the deficit.
Lewis Ludlow's late try then wrapped up the victory three minutes from time.
Kick-off came less than two hours after it was confirmed that Wasps have been suspended from the Premiership and relegated, meaning their results from this season have been expunged.
The teams therefore started the match level on points and during a closely fought first half the teams always stayed within five points of each other.
Harvey Skinner kicked a penalty to put the visitors ahead, before Carreras charged down an Exeter kick to unleash a trademark Rees-Zammit run, from which the Wales winger touched down in the corner.
Maunder pushed Exeter in front, stretching over from close range, yet Exeter failed to take advantage of the spell of possession and territory that followed as Gloucester held firm.
Rees-Zammit was key to the Gloucester attack, repeatedly making runs beyond Exeter's defence and while he fell centimetres short after being picked out by a cross-field kick, the ball was recycled and Carreras went over.
Again Exeter hit back, this time through Van Heerden, as Gloucester missed tackles and allowed the second rower an opening. Still, their lead was short-lived with a third try in seven minutes, as Socino went over from a driving maul.
A Lloyd Evans dummy helped to release Carreras as the second half began, allowing Chapman to finally open up some daylight for Gloucester.
Gradually, they began winning more of the physical battle as Exeter searched for ideas. Ackermann grabbed the rewards, widening the margin further by powering over.
Gloucester's ascendancy was stunted when Albert Tuise was sent to the bin for a maul infringement, and Exeter made their numbers pay through Hodge who easily ran over on the right.
Yet the night belonged to Gloucester, who have lost only once at home since January. Rees-Zammit tucked an underarm pass to captain Ludlow, who soaked up the roar from The Shed as he swan-dived over for his first try of the season.
They move up to third in the table with Exeter in sixth.
Gloucester head coach George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:
"Six tries against Exeter is obviously to be cherished. The boys were brave in the way they played, they were bold, they attacked the game, and I thought they managed it really well, particularly in the second half.
"They went for it and they got their rewards.
"At the start of this season what we hoped to get better and better at was a bit more variety than we had last year and I think that we did, we started to show that a little bit.
"There's always going to be loads for us to work on but the positives are those tries were spread out between forwards and backs."
Exeter head coach Ali Hepher told BBC Radio Devon:
"I like the endeavour, we were scrapping, especially early on, but whenever we got in front in the game we then gave up an error and gave them an opportunity to get back in the game.
"Full credit to them, they were absolutely clinical, when they got a chance they took it.
"If they got us in the corner, when we repelled it we did pretty well at stopping their maul at times. But then we'd give away another penalty and they'd go back into the corner and we just gave them too many opportunities.
"They're a good side and they took full advantage."
Gloucester: Evans; Rees-Zammit, Harris, Kveseladze, Carreras; Hastings, Chapman; Elrington, Socino, Balmain, Clarke, Jordan, Ackermann, Ludlow (capt), Morgan.
Replacements: Walker, Knight, Gotovtsev, Alemanno, Tuisue, Meehan, Reeves, Seabrook.
Sin bin: Albert Tuisue (63 mins)
Exeter: Hogg; Hodge, O'Loughlin, Whitten, Woodburn; Skinner, J Maunder; Sio, Yeandle (capt), Williams, Van Heerden, Gray, Ewers, Pearson, Vermeulen.
Replacements: Innard, Hepburn, Iosefa-Scott, Dunne, Tshiunza, S Maunder, Simmonds, John.
Sin bin: Whitten (69 mins)
Referee: Adam Leal.