Pirates grounded by high-flying Chiefs

GIVEN the great strides that have been made at Sandy Park over the last 12 months, it's difficult to know what Exeter Chiefs supporters want more. The new year to arrive, or 2009 to never end.

However, as the Chiefs continue their canter towards the Guinness Premiership, the growing sense of belief that Exeter may be a top-flight club this time next year is beginning to gather momentum after they claimed an 11th straight Championship victory over the visiting Cornish Pirates.

Saturday's 22-15 success over their counterparts from across the Tamar not only helped extend a now club record run of league wins for Rob Baxter's side, but it ensured the Chiefs have defeated every one of their Championship rivals in the opening half of the new campaign.

Sadly for the league leaders, the absurd new Championship format means that even should they replicate their impressive feat over the second part of the season, it will count for diddly squat as a new ball-game will start come February and it will be back to square one for all and sundry.

That said, Baxter's boys have demonstrated enough this term to show they are more than capable of overcoming whatever hurdles are thrown in their way. Indeed, what could be their biggest dangers in the months that lie ahead is ultimately themselves – and by that I mean – their failure to truly convert their dominance when it really matters most.

Against the Pirates, the Chiefs held the upper hand for large parts of the contest with an authority around the park that was clear to see. Yet for all that superiority, particularly up front, they were never truly able to shake off their resolute visitors who, even with the game deep into injury time in the second half, could still have snatched a share of the spoils had they claimed a converted late score.

For it to be like that, the Pirates must take some credit for the way they kept themselves in contention, the Duchy visitors improved dramatically after the break following a testing first half in which their scrum was dismantled at will by the marauding Exeter pack of forwards, whose front-row triumvirate of Brett Sturgess, Simon Alcott and Chris Budgen were the stand-out figures.

From the outset, however, it was the Chiefs who set the tone. With three changes to their line-up from that which beat Nottingham the week previous – James Hanks, Paul McKenzie and Sean Marsden were drafted into the starting XV – it took precisely one minute 20 seconds for the home side to make their mark in the derby encounter.

Experienced prop Budgen did the initial donkey work by turning the Pirates over from which the ball was fed out to fly-half Gareth Steenson, whose deft chip-kick over the top was completely misread by the visiting defence and the ball was duly snaffled up by centre McKenzie, who crashed over under the sticks for the opening score which Steenson duly converted.

If it was a dream start for the Chiefs, it was somewhat of a nightmare opening for Chris Stirling's side, whose inclusion of young prop Paul Andrew for the injured Rudi Brits was their sole change from the side which narrowly defeated Bedford Blues the week previous.

Despite the early blow, the Pirates wasted little time in offering a quick counter – fly-half Rob Cook dispatching the first of five penalties with a testing effort on five minutes after the home side had been penalised for infringing at a ruck.

The ding-dong nature of the opening period continued apace as former Pirate Steenson traded successful kicks with Cook to make it 10-6 with ten minutes on the clock.

The Chiefs, though, were posing the greater on-field threat and with their scrum bullying the Pirates into a sense of submission the pressure began to mount. Unfortunately for the hosts, the normally reliable Steenson was unable to turn that into points and twice he saw penalty shots miss the mark.

In fairness to the Irishman, the howling gale blowing around Sandy Park meant it was always going to be a testing day for goal kickers, although Cook made light of the problem as he added a third penalty in first-half stoppage time following a sustained period of attacking pressure from the Pirates.

With just a point separating the two sides at the break, it was the Chiefs – this time up against the wind – who were first to show as hooker Alcott surprised the visitors with a training ground line-out that enabled him to gallop 20 metres up the left and into prime attacking position. Again, the Chiefs tried to over complicate things a little too much and the chance went begging.

And it seemed another opportunity was spurned when, following another powerful scrum from the Chiefs, they somehow failed to touchdown from five metres with the whitewash in sight. In the ensuing play, however, Exeter recycled the ball well enough to create the opening for skipper Richard Baxter to charge over in the left-hand corner, Steenson obliged with a testing touchline conversion.

Worse was to follow for the Pirates as first hooker Dave Ward was dispatched to the sin-bin for deliberately slowing the ball down then, with the man advantage, Exeter scrum-half Haydn Thomas sniped away from a scrum to release winger Matt Jess who, despite being held short of the line, was able to set up the platform for Sturgess to dive over in the right-hand corner to make it 22-9.

To their credit, the Pirates refused to buckle and with Cook once again reducing the arrears with another penalty just past the hour, they continued to remain alive and kicking.

Exeter, though, could smell a bonus point and as they continued to lay siege on the visiting line, a combination of some heroic defence from the Pirates, plus an over eagerness in attack, meant they were guilty of wasting a number of decent attacking chances.

Buoyed by this, the Cornishmen did finish with somewhat of a flourish. Cook slotted a fifth kick to ensure a creditable losing bonus point, whilst the last embers of the game were to be a little nerve-racking for the home faithful as the Pirates backs looked to expose any kind of hole in the Exeter defence.

In the end, the Chiefs rearguard was – as it has been numerous times this season – rock solid.