Exeter chairman entitled to ‘fire into everybody’ after humiliation

Rob Hunter said that Exeter chairman Tony Rowe was entitled to “fire into everybody” after the Chiefs suffered Gallagher Premiership humiliation against Gloucester.

Exeter’s 79-17 defeat was their heaviest Premiership loss, and television footage showed an animated Rowe speaking his mind as he addressed players and coaches in the dressing room post-match.

The Chiefs, who have won just three league games all season, conceded 13 tries as Gloucester kept themselves firmly in play-off contention, one point behind fourth-placed Bristol.

“Tony is entirely entitled to come in there (changing room) and fire into everybody,” Exeter head coach Hunter said.

“He puts a lot of time and effort into the club, and his expectations and everyone else’s expectations should be way, way higher than that.

“It was my worst day as a coach. Aside from how we feel individually, the first thing to recognise is that it was no way acceptable for us to perform like that.

“There is no hiding away, and we haven’t tried to hide away from that in the changing room.

“Gloucester played really well, but I think we gifted them momentum in almost every facet of the game. They are capable of scoring a lot of points, and if the game slips away from you in this league at the moment you can concede a lot very quickly.

“Quite clearly, we have gone underneath an avalanche of pressure and intensity from Gloucester and wilted underneath it. It is not a case of back to the drawing board, it is more a case of lessons you feel you are learning, you are not learning.

“We are not going to run away from this, we are going to sit on it all week and we are going to simmer on it it until we play our next game. Nobody is looking for an arm around them.”

Seven of Gloucester’s tries came during an embarrassing first half for the visitors that saw the home side claim a bonus point after just 20 minutes.

Jack Clement, Seb Blake, Lewis Ludlow, Gareth Anscombe, Seb Atkinson, Chris Harris and Tomos Williams all breached Exeter’s defence during the opening period, while Santi Carreras kicked four conversions and Exeter were left with the consolation of a Josh Hodge try that Henry Slade converted.

Atkinson – a strong contender for England’s summer tour to Argentina – added his second try after the break, with Jack Singleton claiming a hat-trick in 10 second-half minutes and Christian Wade and Jamal Ford-Robinson also crossing, and Carreras finishing on six conversions and Anscombe one.

Exeter replacements Will Rigg and Will Haydon-Wood scored the game’s final tries, and it was the most points Gloucester had scored in Premiership history.

Gloucester rugby director George Skivington said: “We have been the best first-half team in the league statistically, and not so much in the second half, and that is something we needed to address.

“We didn’t take our foot off today, we used our maul well, we used our scrum well and we attacked well. I am pleased, all-round.

“We have put a lot of time into attack and we are getting the reward, but what the Bath and Saracens games (both defeats) showed us was you have to be really on it at set-piece and defence as well.”