Red Roses triumvirate tamed as Exeter Chiefs blunt Bristol Bears

This was far from a statement win for Exeter Chiefs but it was impressive nonetheless. They kept the faith to overpower a Bristol side that were stacked with stellar names but failed to live up to their world-class potential, as the hosts reminded everyone of the stars within their ranks.

The Bears recruited heavily over the summer and much has been made of their all-England front-row of Hannah Botterman, Lark Atkin-Davies and Sarah Bern — a line-up which would strike fear into any team. But not Exeter.

Rugby is a game of momentum and after going behind to an early Gabriella Nigrelli try, the Chiefs drew on their North American firepower and produced a gutsy defensive display to wrestle the game from Bristol’s grasp.

Their physicality was encapsulated by the efforts of American No8 Rachel Johnson and Canadian hooker Emily Tuttosi, with the duo giving Exeter the advantage in the collision area. Johnson, the scorer of two tries either side of half-time, was equally outstanding in the loose and her second score shortly after the break sucked the life out of Bristol. Claudia Macdonald slid over to secure a bonus point late on to add extra gloss to the scoreline. 

Susie Appleby said there was more to come from her side, who are back-to-back beaten finalists in this competition. “We’re not getting carried away, it’s game two,” said the Exeter head coach. “But we’re going to get better and there’s going to be a massive competition for places.”

You can bet 20-year-old winger Katie Buchanan, a lesser-known name in this league who often lives in Macdonald’s shadow, will be right in the mix.

A product of Exeter’s centre of excellence, the youngster shone with her defensive work rate and is clearly reaping the rewards of being paid £10,000 this season by the Rugby Football Union as part of ‘transition’ contract the governing body has made available for just six young female players with international potential. If she continues at this rate she will be knocking on the door when Red Roses head coach John Mitchell selects his first Six Nations training camp.

Bristol, who have made no secret of their title ambitions, looked a shadow of the side that ripped Sale apart last week. They started with intent, punching through the hosts with a controlled series of pick-and-goes that led to Nigrelli’s opener, but they lacked their usual snarl and bite in a contest where their breakdown frailties were all too easily exposed.

Wales’ scrum-half Keira Bevan did, however, inject fresh energy into the Bristol’s disjointed attack when she entered the fray, which led to Sarah Bern barging over to pull a score back with 10 minutes left.

“We have some fantastic players and they’ve only spent two weeks together so I’m not driving myself crazy just yet,” said Bristol’s head coach, Dave Ward, whose side have a five-day turnaround before hosting reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury on Friday night.