Plus the Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks game in brief.
Two sides anxious to secure five points met in spring sunshine at Sandy Park.
In the first minute Meg Jones missed a clearance kick into touch, to lose valuable territory. A few phases later, helped by two penalties, Cliodhna Moloney-Macdonald posted Chiefs’ first try behind a driving maul. She was to add two more before the break. This wasn’t the last mistake Jones was to commit.
Trailfinders were a shadow of their normal selves, making error after error. Home fans will claim this was due to opposition pressure. True enough, but it was the unforced variety that sapped confidence.
The one phase of play where they at least matched the Chiefs was the line-out, but even there a steal by Alana Borland led to another defensive lapse.
After a fascinating rally of kick-tennis, the visitors ran the ball out of defence. But the final pass to Vicky Laflin didn’t find a safe home. The Chiefs’ pack took over and CMM had her second.
Even when TF tried an attacking drive from close in, it collapsed, and Richard Gordon awarded possession to the defenders.
The hat-trick try came after a splendid thrust through midfield by Abi Burton. Support arrived too late; Chiefs countered with the inevitable result.
That third score had its lasting psychological effect.
Half-time: 21-7
The whistle had barely sounded when Tanya Kalounivale saw yellow for a high tackle. A series of line-out mishaps followed, and Amy Rule added a bonus-point try.
Kalounivale was replaced by Cass Tuffnail, but her first direct involvement was another high tackle. Same outcome.
Trailfinders did manage a second score, when Georgia Ponsonby took a quick tap and drove over from five metres.
For the rest, the current surged the other way.
The other CMM, Claudia, claimed another excellent try, then Maisy Allen, outstanding throughout, scored twice.
Though the large crowd was enjoying itself thoroughly, the tension had left the game like air from a punctured tyre.
Chiefs now lie 7 points ahead of Quins in third place. Their aim must be to iron out remaining imperfections, before they face the big guns in the play-offs.
Result: Exeter Chiefs 47 Trailfinders 14
Player of the Match: Flo Robinson
Teams
Chiefs: 1 ROGERS 2 CMM 3 RULE 4 vd VELDEN 5 WALL 6 E. ROBINSON 7 ALLEN 8 FEAUNATI 9 F. ROBINSON 10 McGOVERNE 11 CMM 12 McGILLIVRAY 13 TESSIER 14 GRANZOTTO 15 POULIN
16 TUTTOSI 17 SWANN 18 MENIN 19 DUGUID 20 DALE 21 SINCLAIR 22 CANTORNA 23 BUCHANAN
Trailfinders: 1 MONTIEL 2 PONSONBY 3 KALOUNIVALE 4 ROOS 5 BORLAND 6 MALCOLM 7 ZACKARY 8 BURTON 9 BRADLEY 10 C. GALLAGHER 11 LAFLIN 12 COX 13 M. JONES 14 WHITE 15 N. GALLAGHER
16 BLANCO 17 LEATHERMAN 18 TUFFNAIL 19 WASSELL 20 HEAD 21 AMORY 22 INMAN 23 UREN
Afterthoughts
For TF it’s the end of the road. They had to dismantle Chiefs today as they have a tough run-in. They face Quins, Glos-Pury and Sarries, with Lightning tucked in between.
The first time we saw their fluent open play was in the closing moments. The three dropped catches by Rosie Inman summed up their day.
I must return to a well-worn topic. By my calculations no fewer than 31 of the 46 players on view are not qualified to play for England. That means 31 English players being denied a look-in. TF had one Englishwoman in the pack, Abi Burton, a Red Rose.
The PWR board has penalties in place for miscreants. But if all nine clubs are found guilty, they are all docked five points. Does the punishment fit the crime? Where should our interests lie?
Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
A large crowd turned out at Welford Road to enjoy the sunshine and a unusual event – Tigers scored first. Tess Feury popped a penalty over from in front.
For the rest of the game it was business as usual, one-way traffic towards the Tigers’ den.
A concerned Sharks fan had queried Holly Aitchison’s absence from the 23. There were two obvious answers: they have a talented alternative No 10 in Lizzie Duffy, and Tigers were the opposition.
They have now conceded a colossal 724 points. (Glos-Pury have scored 468).
It was distressing to see some of the errors committed, such as a pointless fly hack in defence that led straight to a Sharks try. The level of basic skills (securing breakdown ball, making everyday tackles, etc) left a lot to be desired.
Result: Tigers 3 Sharks 62
