Six try victory for Exeter Chiefs

Challenge Cup: Exeter Chiefs 41-17 La Rochelle

Exeter Chiefs will head into the New Year with their European aspirations firmly on track as they made it back-to-back wins with another hugely impressive win over La Rochelle.

The visiting Frenchman were again no match for Rob Baxter’s in-form side, who helped themselves to six tries in another one-sided encounter at Sandy Park. Exeter skipper Kai

Horstmann led the charge for the home side, scoring the first of those touchdowns with less than a minute on the clock – and he was followed over the whitewash by team-mates Greg Bateman, Fetu’u Vainikolo, Tom James and Adam Hughes, as well as a first half penalty try.

Former Welsh international Ceri Sweeney did the rest of the damage for the Chiefs as he slotted four conversions and a penalty to finish with a final haul of 11 points.

In reply, La Rochelle claimed tries from Julien Berger and Arthur Cestaro, coupled with some kicks from Fabien Fortassin and Jean-Pascal Barraque, but it was scant reward and their focus for 2015 will not be on Europe, but more so preserving their status amongst France’s elite teams in the Top 14.

Having collected only their second-ever win in France the week previous, the Chiefs – who made six changes to their starting line-up – were clearly intent to pick up from where they left off at the Stade Marcel Deflandre.

Indeed, just 51 seconds had elapsed when the Premiership side opened their account for the day.

Ian Whitten’s burst through the middle caused the initial havoc, before quick recycling from scrum-half Dave Lewis allowed skipper Horstmann to power his way over in the left-hand corner.

Four minutes later and Baxter’s side were at it again, this time working a drive off Ryan Caldwell’s line-out catch to the line where hooker Bateman emerged from the self-created composte heap to earn the plaudits of his fellow forwards who had ploughed him successfully over the line.

Already ten points adrift, the visitors needed to find a riposte of sorts back into the contest. It came when fly-half Fortassin slotted a routine penalty after home prop Brett Sturgess was adjudged to have strayed offside in the defensive line.

It was, however, only a momentary blip in the Chiefs’ charge as they made the most of a yellow card for Kini Murimurivalu to add a penalty through Welshman Sweeney.

The lively Lewis went within a whisker of adding a third try on 24 minutes, whilst Horstmann was unlucky not to have claimed a second of the afternoon when he was adjudged to have been held up on the line.

The wait, though, for the third try was not long in coming as the ‘Tongan Express’ Vainikolo produced a rampaging run through the middle; brushing aside the attentions of a handful of tacklers before racing under the sticks for the score, which Sweeney duly converted. With the all-important bonus point now firmly fixed in their sights, the Chiefs proceeded to go for the La Rochelle jugular.

A succession of five-metres scrums from the home side were causing no end of problems for their Top 14 rivals, who under intense pressure had prop Mike Corbel yellow-carded despite repeated warning from Welsh ref Leighton Hodges for dropping the scrum.

Although La Rochelle introduced Vincent Pelo into their front-row, it made no difference as the resultant scrum again saw the Chiefs drive home their authority to such an extent that the officials had little option but to award the penalty try, which was again converted by Sweeney.

On the stroke of half-time, Exeter fans were again on their feet as the sight of Caldwell galloping down the right flank had them thinking they had added a fifth score. Sadly, the former Bath lock was denied his maiden score in Chiefs colours as an earlier infringement was spotted and his hopes were duly dashed.

Half time: Exeter Chiefs 27 La Rochelle 3.