Exeter 12 Clermont 46:IT WOULD be easy to look at this scoreline and assume Exeter were annihilated. In truth this was a game of two halves which revealed more about Clermont's strengths than the Chiefs' weaknesses.
After watching his side concede 36 unanswered second-half points, their head coach, Rob Baxter, picked an appropriate metaphor. “All of a sudden you can be facing a bit of an avalanche. You’ve got to learn how to push that back up the hill.”
There is a sizeable difference, unfortunately, between a Dartmoor Tor and the Massif Central.
When Clermont are allowed to play, there are few tougher obstacles in Europe. If the Devonians imagined they had negotiated the hard yards having taken a 12-10 interval lead, they were swiftly reminded how unforgiving the Heineken Cup can be. Twenty slack minutes at this level is almost always fatal.
It did not help, either, that Clermont have clearly absorbed the lessons of past failed campaigns as they seek to qualify from Pool Five at the expense of the champions Leinster. Occasionally they have erred in sending over weakened teams for these kind of fixtures and squandered crucial qualification points. This time they arrived with the full metal jacket, and the likes of Wesley Fofana and Julien Bonnaire proved sharper than anything the Chiefs encounter in the Aviva Premiership.
Clermont coach, Vern Cotter, also argued that Exeter’s second-half slippage was a predictable consequence of their recent intense schedule. “Exeter have played the same team for a number of games and I think that’s why they tired in the second half,” said Cotter.
“We didn’t see the characteristic strength of carry and work at the ruck they normally have. After we’d stopped looking at them playing and started playing ourselves things turned around.”
This view, as ever, cuts straight to the heart of the vexed debate over squad depths on both sides of the channel. Three-quarters of Clermont’s roster are full internationals while the Chiefs, constrained by the salary cap in common with all the English sides, had just two capped players in Saturday’s pink-clad starting XV.
When their replacement scrum-half, Will Chudley, dislocated his collarbone, with Haydn Thomas already substituted, there was only one outcome likely.
The lopsided result will certainly have caused a few furrowed brows in Dublin. After two games, Clermont have a maximum 10 points and have already scored 12 tries to Leinster’s one, including two apiece here for Fofana and Napolioni Nalaga.
Cotter clearly believes this will help when his team tackle Leinster home and away in December.
“What’s important is we’ve managed to transfer a bit of pressure on to Leinster,” stressed Cotter, whose team were narrowly beaten by the Irish province in last season’s semi-final.
“The games in December will be critical to qualification and in the second half I think we saw our desire to do well in Europe this season.”
Baxter, for his part, hopes Exeter have learned from their encounters with two of the best sides in Europe inside eight days, having previously lost to Leinster.
Luke Arscott and Thomas both had conspicuous games in distinguished company and their coaches will be disappointed if the Chiefs struggle to reboot themselves against Bath and Worcester over the next two weekends.
“Our challenge is that we turn up on Monday a better team,” said Baxter. “If we haven’t learned from what has happened it has been a waste of time. We’ve had two very valuable games and we’ve got to maximise every moment of them. We’ll still be going flat out after the two Scarlets pool games in December.”
EXETER CHIEFS: Arscott; Whitten, Dollman, Shoemark (Naqelevuki, 55), Jess; Steenson (Mieres, 63), Thomas (Chudley, 60; Moon, 69); Sturgess, Alcott (Whitehead, h-t), Rimmer (Budgen, 76), Hayes (capt), Hanks (Muldowney, 63), Johnson (Welsh, 63), Scaysbrook, Baxter. Sin-bin: Baxter 37, Mieres 79.
CLERMONT AUVERGNE: Byrne; Sivivatu, Rougerie (capt; Stanley, 60), Fofana, Nalaga; James (Skrela, 67), Parra (Radosavljevic, 72); Domingo (Debaty, 47), Kayser (Paulo, 60; Zirakashvili, 63), Cudmore (Jacquet, 68), Pierre, Vosloo (Vermeulen, 28), Bonnaire, Chouly.
Referee: J Lacey (Ireland).
