The way Exeter were going at The Stoop yesterday, they may as well have run off the field and sprinted all the way back to Devon. At the pace they moved, they would all have been home inside an hour or so. This was not only a brutal dismemberment of a professional team but also a glorious exhibition of handlin, running and taking chances and it was a regal way to secure a home semi-final, against Wasps at Sandy Park.
What a match that will be. It is about five years since Exeter surprised anyone by their continuing and growing excellence, and there are very few club teams who would be happy at the prospect of taking on the team, the crowd and the county. Wasps, with no shortage of excellence themselves, will on yesterdays’ evidence have to deal with the ball being moved rapidly, behind dummy runners with zip and wit; with glorious handling and with a style of play which demanded such pace that Exeter did not even bother to station Will Chudley, the scrum-half, at the back of the rucks. The first man there merely whipped the ball out – even if it was one of the props or one of the back-five giants such as Mitch Lees and Thomas Waldrom.
The young Exeter props are becoming extremely interesting. They are at the age when they should be taking scrummage beatings but they both came through fresh as daisies. They are both giants, unlikely to be completely averse to the odd pie. Neither has been successful, either, in finding a barber in Exeter. Frankly, they both look like the sons of the Rockers I used to challenge on Brighton beach in my Mod phase. But they cannot half play, in the scrum and around the field. They could be frightening in two years’ time.
Frightening in a different way was the sharpness of Jack Nowell and James Short on the wings. They harvested five tries between them. There were soft tries when Quins simply became exhausted, but there were also wonderful cutting edges to their work. Naturally, it was the worst way for Harlequins to mark the end of the home tenure of Conor O’Shea as director of rugby. This defeat means that they lose an automatic qualification for the European Champions Cup for next season. Their remaining chance is to pull themselves together and win the Challenge Cup in Lyons next week against Montpellier. O’Shea, who was bitterly upset by the manner of the defeat, described next week as “a massive mental challenge” and did not spare his men with criticism of their performance.
But there is hope. To be fair to him, he did not mention that a decent core of Harlequins should be back next week — Joe Marler returns from suspension, and three excellent forwards in James Horwill, Luke Wallace and Joe Gray also return. On the converse side, there were some weary legs out there yesterday, and even the likes of Mike Brown and Danny Care, who can be relied upon to take the game up the nostrils of any opposition, were well below their finest form. But there is hope, and if Harlequins can bounce back, then they can easily forget the ghastly vision of what yesterday left behind.
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There was only one short stage of the match where they looked like they might be competitive. Exeter had pulled menacingly away to 17-3 just before half-time. But Short scored down the left after Nowell had cut up the home defence, the forwards took it on and then Waldrom and Sam Hill put Short over.
Soon after that, a lovely kick by Slade got Marland Yarde and Mike Brown in a dither, Exeter won the lineout, hammered on around the corner and Nowell scored down the right. Soon after, the powerhouse Dave Ewers barrelled his way over from the lineout.
Harlequins simply had to score before half-time, and courtesy of a splendid breakaway led by Yarde, they did so, with Brown sending Care over to the delight of a Harlequins crowd which struck resolutely by their men even when the half-century was run up well before the end. But if there was hope at 10-17 at half-time, then it dissipated rapidly. Exeter gave a definitive and even champion-like performance in the third quarter, with another long pass by Henry Slade sending Nowell over again. And then Waldrom, the No 8, timed a pass perfectly to send Short over again.
The rest of it had the air of thrilling formality, with Nowell completing the hat-trick, and Phil Dollman, Slade and Julian Salvi scoring tries of, frankly, increasing softness.
There was a consolation try for Quins by Kyle Sinckler, but by that time Exeter were contemplating the challenge of Wasps. They probably need double the capacity to get in everyone who would like to attend. It is quite something to be richly entertaining as well as bloody good.
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Harlequins: Brown, Yarde, Stanley, Roberts, Chisholm, Evans, Care, Lambert, Ward, Collier, Merric, Matthews, Robshaw, Cliffords, Easter
Exeter Chiefs: Dollman, Nowell, Slade, Hill, Short, Steenson, Chudley, Hepburn, Yeandle, Williams, Lees, Welch, Ewers, Salvi, Waldrom