A glance at the team’s record suggested that this could be a difficult afternoon for Gloucester, and so it turned out. Exeter’s international contingent, led by Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins and led by virtuoso performances from England’s Immanuel Feyi-waboso and Henry Slade, kept their playoff hopes alive with a bonus-point win.
Slade scored 13 points-a perfect six from six – and donated in style to a fluent actionstartinging performance from Rob Baxter, who scored five tries. Jacques Vermeulen got two, one in each half, while Dan John and Olly Woodburn crossed before the Break and Feyi-Waboso sealed the bonus point afterwards.
Exeter are seventh, four points behind Bristol in fourth place, and they host fifth-placed Harlequins in a few weeks at Sandy Park before a final away game against Leicester. The offense is working exceptionally well, but you have to improve defensively to reach the playoffs.
Jonny May – who announced this week that he will leave Kingsholm this summer – probably for a move abroad-crossed an attempt with Jack Clement and Arthur Clark to give hope to the Cherry and Whites. But they have been greatly exceeded.
Gloucester head coach George Skivington confirmed that his selection had cast more than one eye on next Saturday’s European Challenge Cup semi-final against Benetton, also revealing that Santiago Carreras was absent due to appendicitis, but he admitted that the performance was still insufficient.
“I think they definitely smack us in intensity and that’s what disappoints me the most,” Skivington said. “Their need to win probably overtook us in the first half… But I made the selection that I have, I coached the guys the way I did [with regard to the Benetton game]. So I can’t moan too much.”
Exeter were dynamic from the start and Slade’s penalty took advantage of an early possession after five minutes. Feyi-Waboso often pressurize, breaking duels and tearing into the space where he appeared. The medical student looked a class apart after his recent introduction to the Six Nations by Steve Borthwick, the England head coach.
It was Feyi-Waboso’s strike that gave Openside Vermeulen field position to score from close range after 14 minutes. Jenkins embodied in the captain’s armband the mixture of silk and steel of the visitors, his distribution often proving significant.