Exeter 62pts, Cornish All Blacks 0 STARTING his 250th National League game the evergreen and ever popular Wayne Reed led his 'new' team out against his 'old' to tumultuous applause from over 4,000 spectators. 250 games at this level in this hard physical age, and keeping smiling, is a tremendous achievement. The visitors started this game full of spirit and determination but after the first 20 minutes they seemed to lose their spark as the Chiefs stamped their marked superiority on the game in a manner that the Cornish All Blacks were not able to answer. As it has been so often this season there were a number of missed chances which just might have had a marked impact on the final outcome. The first chances came early on when Jon Fabian attempted two long range penalties but neither was successful. Two spirited breaks, also by Jon Fabian, went deep into the Exeter 22 but were stopped short of the line. It took the Chiefs fully 11 minutes to get into the Cornish half but then they got their act into gear. Turning the ball over under their own posts, scrum half Clive Stuart-Smith fed centre Wade Kelly who made the break. He passed to speedy winger Josh Drauniniu who sped away to score. Fly half Danny Gray landed a difficult conversion. The Cornish All Blacks pack fought hard and often got the Chiefs on the back foot but the home pack soon began to get the upper hand. A decisive 20m maul took them close to the visitors' line. The resulting 5m scrum gave the Chiefs the chance to show their skill at the 'pick-and-go' tactic. This resulted in a simple penalty for Gray. With the Exeter pack now beginning to show more form their backs were getting more ball. On the half hour , again from deep within their own half, a series of good passes and quick recycles sent Wade Kelly over the line. Gray missed the conversion but the Chiefs had a 15 point lead. Cornish All Backs fought back hard; Pete Fisher had a solo run down the centre – where was the support? The referee stopped play for an injury when Launceston had good possession well in the Exeter 22; then when Neil Clark had broken away with no defenders anywhere near him play was brought back for an earlier knock-on! Of such things is rugby made! Having held the Chiefs to a 15 point lead at half time the Cornish All Blacks had a lot to do but an exciting second half seemed in prospect. It was exciting but from an Exeter perspective! Maybe three games in eight days was beginning to take its toll on Cornish All Blacks but they looked tired and started making silly mistakes. The period was only a minute or so old when the ball was turned over. Wade Kelly went blind with no opposition before feeding Josh Draniniu to score. Gary Kingdom, taking over the kicking duties from injured Danny Gray, slotted the conversion. The Chiefs started to pile the pressure on the somewhat dispirited Cornish All Blacks. Captain Richard Baxter was the next to score from a drive over the line. Straight from the kick-off Clive Stuart-Smith took a tap penalty well inside his own half before the ball passed cleanly along the back line for Jason Luff to score. Two minutes later Luff caught a clearance kick that failed to find touch, chipped over the defence to gather and pass inside for Baxter to score his second. Although Cornish All Blacks brought on all their replacements by 55th minute it could only temporarily stem the flow of Exeter tries. Three more scores came in the final ten minutes from Barrett, Luff and Stuart-Smith. Another disappointing day but maybe three games in eight days is just to big an 'ask' of semi- professional players. It certainly looked like. Exeter Chiefs: Gary Kingdom, Jason Luff, Mark Fatialofa, Wade Kelly, Josh Drauniniu (Kevin Barrett 59), Danny Gray (Junior Fatialofa 36), Clive Stuart Smith, Shane Kingsland (Steve Bennett 64), Saul Nelson (Sam Blythe 64), Craig Dunlea (Brett Sturgess 57), James Hanks, Chris Bentley, Chad Slade (Lewis Stevenson 57), Alan Miller (Andy Miller 64) and Richard Baxter (capt) Scorers: tries, Drauniniu (2), Kelly, Baxter (2), Luff (2), Barrett, Stuart-Smith; cons, Gray, Kingdom (6); pen, Gray. Cornish All Blacks; Jon Fabian, Matt Jess, Ryan Westren, Pete Fisher, Hamish Smales (Mark Scrivenor 54), Steve Perry (Andy Birkett 65), Sam Alford (Marc Dibble 65), Laurie Ovens, Neil Clark (Keith Brooking 57), Wayne Reed (Richard Liddington 49), Steve Pape, Tim Collier (Gavin Quinnell 49), Josh Lord (capt), Tony Roques, and Mike Myerscough (Wayne Sprangle 57) Referee; Mr Greg Garner (RFU).
