Chiefs dominate Newcastle Red Bulls

Strong performance over Prem laggards

A cold northern wind greeted Exeter Chiefs when they arrived on Tyneside to face Newcastle Red Bulls in the Prem, foreshadowing what would certainly be a whirlwind of a first half. 

The Chiefs started the stronger of the two sides, looking to build on their victory over Sale last week. Following an attacking lineout, they spread the play quickly for Paul Brown-Bampoe to find himself with ball in hand to score Chiefs’ first with just six minutes on the clock. The 5-0 scoreline was a sign of things to come.

Five minutes later, the Chiefs attacked down the centre, leaving Campbell Ridl in acres of space on the left-hand side. A good pass from Harvey Skinner to find him gave the Exeter winger the easiest of tries. 12-0 to the away side in just 11 minutes.

The Chiefs showed no signs of stopping. Five minutes later Brown-Bampoe had his second. An Exeter maul motored through Newcastle’s defence, leaving their in-form number 14 alone on the right for another simple finish.

The Chiefs remained the better team and were rewarded with their bonus point try after just 26 minutes. Ollie Woodburn ran it in from five meters out making the score 24-0 after 26 minutes. An utterly one-sided affair. 

The hosts did get one back. Winger Christian Wade received the ball out wide, broke three tackles and scored the best try of the game on 32 minutes.

Red Bulls’ subdued celebrations didn’t last long. Another Chiefs attack came about with work from Woodburn on the left. A nice off load found Ridl out wide who managed to scramble the ball over for his second of the game. 

Half time: Newcastle Red Bulls 7-31 Exeter Chiefs

The second half looked like it might be more of the same as just two minutes in, Stephen Varney scored another easy try for the visitors, receiving the ball in space from a lineout and effortlessly scoring Chiefs’ sixth of the game. 

However, the start did not depict what was to come for the rest of the half. What followed was a scrappy and slightly disjointed second 40 for both teams. Chiefs played with a high intensity but did not show the same quality as the first half.

The only other notable highlight of the second half came right at the end. Callum Hancock, bundled home a consolation try in the 80th minute, ending a disappointing home performance.

Full-time: Newcastle Red Bulls 14 : 38 Exeter Chiefs. It moved the Chiefs up to third in the Prem, at least temporarily. The Friday night game, the first of round 12, means things changed over the weekend to move them back to fourth, but a play-off place, remains on the cards. The battle will have to wait a while. Attention turns to the European Challenge Cup next weekend, when Munster come to Sandy Park.