Three bonus-point victories from three for Exeter, 17 tries and further evidence they are by a distance the No 1 challengers to Saracens’ crown. Henry Slade’s early-season swagger continues and this is now the Chiefs’ beststart to a Premiership campaign. It will not rank among their very best performances but with Alex Cuthbert’s first try for the club bringing up the bonus point against Sale before Tom Lawday added the gloss late on, the Exeter machine rolls on regardless.
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The odd neutral may find them a touch scripted but there is no sense of apathy in the stands, not when Rob Baxter can make nine changes to his starting lineup and still achieve the desired result. Slade was the man of the match last week against Wasps and again here. He wore the No 13 jersey for all three summer Tests against South Africa but has never before started four times in a row for England. The hope must be this is the season he consistently produces his club form on the international stage. For his class shone through again, and all after a second-minute collision left him with blood streaming from his nose.
“I thought Henry Slade was outstanding, which is great news for us and for England,” Baxter said. “He came back from the England tour in great condition. We’ve held him back a bit, he’s very determined, I thought he was the driving force and these last couple of games he’s looked real quality.”
Eddie Jones names his latest training squad on Thursday and judging by the first three rounds of the Premiership, there will be plenty of Chiefs who get the nod. Matt Kvesic and Sam Simmonds may be among them, though both were ruled out shortly before kick-off owing to illness.
If it affected Exeter it rarely showed but Sale to their credit were manful opponents in the first half. Again they return home with nothing to show for their exploits on their travels and as demonstrated a few hours earlier in Wellington, the Sharks will be greatly enhanced when Faf de Klerk returns from international duty.
“When I get the squad together I think we can be challenging for a top-six place,” said Sale’s director of rugby, Steve Diamond. “We didn’t take any injuries and there’s some cavalry coming in the next few weeks with people coming back from bans, injuries, so I’ll look forward to Wasps next Saturday.”
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After an early AJ MacGinty penalty for Sale, it did not take long for Exeter to find their stride. Their second prolonged period of possession resulted in Joe Simmonds, on his first start of the season, spotting WillGriff John in the line, darting past him and releasing Santiago Cordero for the first try. MacGinty’s second penalty and a try from Marland Yarde on the left edged Sale ahead but Exeter led again when Jonny Hill blasted his way over from close range.
Sale finished an absorbing half the stronger and began the second brightly but a dreadful knock-on from the otherwise assured MacGinty, letting a high ball slip straight through him under no pressure, was seized on. Slade took full advantage, stepping this way and that before giving Jack Maunder an unopposed run under the posts.
Jono Ross and Don Armand were then shown yellow cards for their roles in a set-to between almost all 30 players and when the dust settled, Sale’s replacement wing Paolo Odogwu dashed down the right to pounce on a clever grubber and popped up the ball for Bryn Evans to score. Exeter’s reply was almost immediate, with Cuthbert finishing expertly on the left after quick hands from Phil Dollman before Lawday got in on the act.