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Exeter Chiefs 38 Newcastle Red Bulls 15
Newcastle Red Bulls endured a tough afternoon in Devon on Saturday as Exeter Chiefs claimed all five Gallagher PREM points, helped by a hat-trick from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
The hosts led 24-10 at the break and were within a whisker of opening the scoring after five minutes when a chip-and-chase down the right saw the final pass just going to ground, but they got themselves off the mark shortly afterwards when Feyi-Waboso powered between the posts.
Newcastle had halted the Chiefs’ maul threat from a penalty in the right corner, but when the ball was worked infield there was no stopping the England winger - albeit Henry Slade’s conversion attempt from in front was fired wide of the target.
Brett Connon had no such worries from the kicking tee as he thumped over a 40-metre penalty to get the Red Bulls off the mark, but Exeter widened their lead when the TMO awarded a try to Italy No.8 Ross Vintcent, which Slade this time converted.
The hosts kept piling on the pressure and knocked on over the try-line in pursuit of their third score, but it duly arrived just before the half-hour when defensive numbers were sucked infield and the ball was worked wide to Feyi-Waboso, who darted in for a converted try down the right-hand side.
Amanaki Mafi and Brett Connon attempted to spark the visitors into life with a fleeting counter-attack from deep inside their own 22, only for the Chiefs to scramble back, and the Devon side had the four-try bonus point on 36 minutes when hooker Joseph Dweba scored from a maul in the right corner.
Newcastle reduced the half-time deficit to 24-10 when skipper George McGuigan steered a similarly destructive driving maul over in the right corner – Connon curling in his conversion from the touchline despite a fierce cross-wind.
A jackal penalty from Ethen Grayson prevented Exeter adding to their advantage during the early moments of the second half when Vintcent broke clear from an interception, but the contest was all but over before the hour mark when a cross-field kick to the right corner saw Feyi-Waboso complete his hat-trick.
The visitors earned a scrum penalty and kicked to the corner only to lose the resulting line-out on a frustrating afternoon, and the pain got worse ten minutes from time when Harvey Skinner scored from an interception 30 metres out.
They did have the consolation of scoring the game’s final try, however, when Alex Hearle dived in at the right corner three minutes from time.
Newcastle Red Bulls: 15 Liam Williams (Elliott Obatoyinbo, 56), 14 Oli Spencer, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Ethan Grayson, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Brett Connon (Boeta Chamberlain, 66), 9 James Elliott (Jack Dickens,78); 1 Murray McCallum (Adam Brocklebank, 51), 2 George McGuigan (captain, Ollie Fletcher,66), 3 Luan de Bruin (Richard Palframan, 8, Murray McCallum, 73), 4 Jamie Hodgson (Oscar Usher, 66), 5 Freddie Clarke, 6 Cameron Neild (Fergus Lee-Warner, 56), 7 Tom Gordon, 8 Amanaki Mafi.
Scorers – Tries: George McGuigan, Alex Hearle. Conversions: Brett Connon. Penalties: Brett Connon.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Dan John, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Hammersley, 11 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney (Charlie Chapman, 66); 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke (Kwenzo Blose, 56), 2 Joseph Dweba (Jack Yeandle,56), 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (captain), 5 Andrea Zambonin, 6 Ethan Roots (Lewis Pearson, 62), 7 Greg Fisilau, 8 Ross Vintcent (Kane James, 62).
Scorers – Tries: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso 3, Ross Vintcent, Joseph Dweba. Conversions: Henry Slade 3.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys. Attendance: 7,791.
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