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Exeter Chiefs
Racing 92
HT 21 - 12
31
27
Saturday 17 October 2020 Heineken Champions Cup
Final Ashton Gate
Ref: Nigel Owens Assis Ref 1: Mike Adamson Assis Ref 2: Craig Evans TMO: Ian Davies CC: Peter Ferguson

Match Page - Fixed Scoreboard

3127

Overview

Match Centre - Preview - Current Standing A v B

Standings

1

1

Positions on Jan 18, 2020

Match Centre - Preview - H2H

Head to Head

1

Wins

0

Draws

0

Match Centre - Preview - Form Guide

Recent form

D
W
W
W
W
L
W
W

Match Centre - Preview - Last Three Meetings

Season so far

Match Centre - Preview - Season So Far A v B

Total Tries

38

33

Metres Gained

3308

3944

Passes

1196

1312

Tackles Made

1280

1111

Penalties Conceded

93

84

Turnovers Won

93

84

Tournament record

Match Centre - Preview - Tournament Record (Team A)

Played 73 (39 home, 34 away)
Wins 35 (26 home, 9 away)
Losses 35 (11 home, 24 away)
Draws 3 (2 home, 1 away)
Average points 24
Biggest win 42 - 0
Heaviest defeat 17 - 69

Match Centre - Preview - Tournament Record (Team B)

Played 96 (49 home, 47 away)
Wins 50 (33 home, 17 away)
Losses 42 (16 home, 26 away)
Draws 4 (0 home, 4 away)
Average points 24
Biggest win 56 - 3
Heaviest defeat 10 - 42

Exeter Chiefs and Racing 92 go in search of first Heineken Champions Cup crown

Thursday 15th October 2020

2:20 pm (GMT)

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Exeter Chiefs and Racing 92 go in search of first Heineken Champions Cup crown

Make sure you watch the Heineken Champions Cup final on Saturday afternoon

Exeter Chiefs and Racing 92 will go in search of a first Heineken Champions Cup crown on Saturday afternoon when they clash at Ashton Gate in this season’s showpiece final.

The two sides have displayed impressive form en-route to the final, with both sides topping their respective pools. Exeter then breezed past Northampton Saints in the quarter-finals before overcoming Toulouse 28-18 in a tense final four game.

Racing 92 meanwhile were made to work hard for their 36-27 win over ASM Clermont Auvergne in the last eight before earning a hard-fought victory over reigning champions Saracens in the semi-final, with EPCR European Player of the Year nominees Finn Russell and Virimi Vakatawa combining to reach Juan Imhoff for the crucial try.

You can watch Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup final on BT Sport, beIN SPORTS, Channel 4, Virgin Media and FR2 from 16:45 (UK and Irish time).

Pool positions

Exeter Chiefs: 1st, Pool 2, 27 points.

Racing 92: 1st, Pool 4, 23 points.

Knockout stage results

Exeter Chiefs: QF – Exeter Chiefs 38 Northampton Saints 15, SF – Exeter Chiefs 28 Toulouse 18

Racing 92: QF – ASM Clermont Auvergne 27 Racing 92 36, SF – Racing 92 19 Saracens 15

Head-to-head record

First meeting in European competition.

Leading 2019/20 points-scorers

Exeter Chiefs: Joe Simmonds (84), Sam Simmonds (35), Jacques Vermeulen (15)

Racing 92: Teddy Iribaren (57), Maxime Machenaud (43), Teddy Thomas (30)

Team news

  • EPCR European Player of the Year nominees Stuart Hogg and Sam Simmonds both start for Exeter, who will be captained by Joe Simmonds from fly-half. Alec Hepburn, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Harry Williams make up the Chiefs’ front row, with Dave Ewers and Jacques Vermeulen also starting in the pack. Henry Slade and Ian Whitten form a strong centre partnership, while Gareth Steenson will start the final game of his illustrious career on the bench.
  • Henri Chavancy captains Racing from inside centre, and is joined by two EPCR Player of the Year nominees in Finn Russell and Virimi Vakatawa to form a formidable back line. Louis Dupichot, Simon Zebo and Juan Imhoff also start, with Fabien Sanconnie, Antonie Claassen and Wenceslas Lauret as the back-row.

 Key quotes  

  • Rob Baxter (Exeter Chiefs): “It’s the biggest game in the club’s history. We’ve had to win big games to get here and every time you get to one of these big games, I suppose it’s the biggest one you will ever play.  We’ve seen our players grow in recent weeks, especially in the big games. The match against Toulouse was very important. We put together a game plan and stuck to it despite weathering a lot of pressure. The opposition will have momentum at some point, but we’ll need to weather it and fight back, so I suppose you need that experience and it will help us I think.”   
  • Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs): We’ve got a special group of players here. A win would be very, very special for this group. “There are coaches here who will look at the opposition. They’ve got quite a few [dangerous players]; they’re quite blessed in that department. If you overcomplicate stuff, it leads to trouble. Where we’ve done well in the past is when we’ve kept it simple.” 
  • Finn Russell (Racing 92): “They’re a world-class team obviously and for me they’re the best in the Premiership, the best in England just now. It’s not going to be an easy challenge to try and break them down this weekend. It’s the simple things – if we stick to our structure and our game plan, then we’ve got great attacking threats, as we’ve shown in the past. They’ve got a great defence and there’ll be a few things there I’ll be looking to pick out maybe, with that analysis you do in the week building up.” 

Match facts

  • The 25th anniversary final will be the eighth Anglo-French decider with Premiership clubs currently leading the TOP 14 by five wins to two, and Ashton Gate will be the 13th stadium to host the showpiece match.
  • There will be a new name engraved on the Heineken Champions Cup trophy following Saturday’s match. Exeter are appearing in their first decider and Racing their third in the space of five seasons, and the victor will become the 12th club to win European club rugby’s blue-riband tournament.
  • Maxime Machenaud is Racing’s overall leading scorer in the Heineken Champions Cup with 214 points from his 45 appearances, while veteran, Gareth Steenson, has amassed 255 points for Exeter from 37 appearances to date.
  • Racing’s Head Coach, Laurent Travers, a winner with Brive in 1997, could emulate Leinster Rugby’s Leo Cullen who is currently the only person to win the tournament as a Head Coach and as a player. Chiefs Head Coach, Ali Hepher, who is Rob Baxter’s de facto No 2, could also lay claim to the accolade as he was a tournament winner with Northampton Saints in 2000.
  • Racing’s Virimi Vakatawa leads the tournament statistics categories in clean breaks (16) and defenders beaten (48).
  • Bristol will become the 10th city after Cardiff, Bordeaux, Dublin, London, Paris, Edinburgh, Lyon, Bilbao and Newcastle to stage a tournament final.
  • Exeter’s Dave Ewers has made the most tackles in the tournament this season with 118.
  • Exeter’s Sam and Joe Simmonds are in line to become the eighth set of brothers to win the title. The seven to date are: Delon and Stefon Armitage (RC Toulon), Philippe and Olivier Carbonneau (Toulouse/Brive), Jan and Bryn Cunningham (Ulster), Denis and John Fogarty (Munster/Leinster), Rob and Dave Kearney (Leinster), Martin and Will Johnson (Leicester) and Billy and Mako Vunipola (Saracens).

Match Centre - Preview - Lineups

S. Hogg

15

S. Zebo

. Beale 64'

J. Nowell

I. Whitten 66'

14

L. Dupichot

H. Slade

13

V. Vakatawa

. Klemenczak 75'

I. Whitten

O. Devoto 58'

J. Nowell 68'

12

H. Chavancy

T. O'Flaherty

11

J. Imhoff

J. Simmonds

10

F. Russell

J. Maunder

S. Hidalgo-Clyne 64'

9

T. Iribaren

M. Machenaud 41'

A. Hepburn

B. Moon 55'

1

E. Ben Arous

L. Cowan-Dickie

J. Yeandle 55'

2

C. Chat

. Baubigny 50'

H. Williams

T. Francis 55'

3

G. Colombe

. Oz 50'

J. Gray

S. Skinner 58'

4

B. Le Roux

D. Ryan 66'

J. Hill

5

D. Bird

D. Ewers

6

W. Lauret

J. Vermeulen

J. Kirsten 55'

7

F. Sanconnie

S. Simmonds

8

A. Claassen

. Palu 75'

Replacements

J. Yeandle

L. Cowan-Dickie

16

T. Baubigny

C. Chat

B. Moon

A. Hepburn

17

H. Kolingar

T. Francis

H. Williams

18

A. Oz

. Colombe

S. Skinner

J. Gray

19

D. Ryan

B. Le Roux

J. Kirsten

J. Vermeulen

20

B. Palu

A. Claassen

S. Hidalgo-Clyne

J. Maunder

21

M. Machenaud

. Iribaren

G. Steenson

22

O. Klemenczak

V. Vakatawa

O. Devoto

I. Whitten

23

K. Beale

S. Zebo

Exeter Chiefs secure first Heineken Champions Cup after dramatic success over Racing 92

Saturday 17th October 2020

7:15 pm (GMT)

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Exeter Chiefs secure first Heineken Champions Cup after dramatic success over Racing 92

Exeter's Jack Yeandle and Joe Simmonds lift the Heineken Champions Cup

Exeter Chiefs lifted the Heineken Champions Cup for the first time after a breathtaking final at Ashton Gate, holding off Racing 92 to come out 31-27 victors in an all-time European classic.

The English side led throughout but that doesn’t tell the full story of a Heineken Champions Cup final that saw eight tries shared by the two sides, and a thrilling final ten minutes as Exeter clung on with Sam Hidalgo-Clyne coming up with a crucial turnover late on.

It was the eventual winners who made the stronger start after Teddy Iribaren missed touch early and that gave Exeter a scrum which was soon rewarded with a penalty by referee Nigel Owens.

Joe Simmonds would kick into touch and the line-out led to a driving maul that powered towards and over the line with Luke Cowan-Dickie under the pile of Exeter men.

Exeter continued to dominate and had a second try on 17 minutes when penalty after penalty inside their own 22 put Racing on the back foot and they couldn’t stop Sam Simmonds from bursting over from close range.

But Racing would respond as with penalty advantage, Finn Russell forced a sumptuous pass from the centre to wide right, finding Simon Zebo who dived over in the corner.

Russell couldn’t convert but would manage to make no mistake on Racing’s second score on 33 minutes.

It was Juan Imhoff who slipped past Jonny Hill from the edge of the ruck and found enough space to go clear and score at the posts.

But after a deflected Finn Russell kick, Exeter grabbed a pivotal try just before the break.

It came from the resulting line-out, they worked phase after phase towards the posts before Harry Williams managed to power over.

A truly remarkable second half started with Russell and Zebo combining yet again as the latter managed to dart around the Exeter defenders and have enough to strength to wriggle his way over the line for the second time.

However, Russell went from hero to villain after a loose pass inside his own half was collected by Jack Nowell and he found Henry Slade for a critical try at the posts.

Four minutes later, Racing again responded as a penalty gave them a platform to move into the Exeter 22 and they took full advantage as Camille Chat peeled off the back of a driving maul and dived over.

The conversion made it 28-24 and it would be a one-point game with 15 minutes to play when Virimi Vakatawa broke clear but Racing didn’t spot the overlap and eventually settled for a Machenaud penalty kick.

Racing piled on the pressure with a man extra in the final eight minutes as Tomas Francis was sent to the sin bin for deliberate knock-on.

But Racing opted for the corner instead of the tricky penalty kick and after over 20 bruising phases, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne came up with the crucial turnover for the Chiefs.

Exeter managed to cling on and as Racing attempted to wrestle possession back, they gave up another penalty and allowed Joe Simmonds to boot over a three-pointer with the clock in the red, giving the English side a maiden European success.

LIVE - TEST - Commentary

Match Commentary
79
Penalty J. Simmonds
75
Replacement Off: A. Claassen On: B. Palu
75
Replacement Off: V. Vakatawa On: O. Klemenczak
70
Yellow Card T. Francis
68
Replacement Off: I. Whitten On: J. Nowell
66
Replacement Off: J. Nowell On: I. Whitten
66
Replacement Off: B. Le Roux On: D. Ryan
64
Replacement Off: J. Maunder On: S. Hidalgo-Clyne
64
Replacement Off: S. Zebo On: K. Beale
64
Penalty M. Machenaud
58
Replacement Off: I. Whitten On: O. Devoto
58
Replacement Off: J. Gray On: S. Skinner
55
Replacement Off: J. Vermeulen On: J. Kirsten
55
Replacement Off: L. Cowan-Dickie On: J. Yeandle
55
Replacement Off: H. Williams On: T. Francis
55
Replacement Off: A. Hepburn On: B. Moon
50
Replacement Off: G. Colombe On: A. Oz
50
Replacement Off: C. Chat On: T. Baubigny
50
Conversion M. Machenaud
49
Try C. Chat
45
Conversion J. Simmonds
44
Try H. Slade
43
Missed Conversion M. Machenaud
42
Try S. Zebo
41
Replacement Off: T. Iribaren On: M. Machenaud
40
Conversion J. Simmonds
39
Try H. Williams
31
Conversion F. Russell
31
Try J. Imhoff
20
Missed Conversion F. Russell
19
Try S. Zebo
16
Conversion J. Simmonds
15
Try S. Simmonds
8
Conversion J. Simmonds
7
Try L. Cowan-Dickie

Match Page - Summary

Score Summary
Exeter Chiefs
Racing 92

Tries

L. Cowan-Dickie 7’

S. Simmonds 15’

H. Williams 39’

H. Slade 44’

S. Zebo 19’ , 42’

J. Imhoff 31’

C. Chat 49’

Conversions

J. Simmonds 8’ , 16’ , 40’ , 45’

F. Russell 31’

M. Machenaud 50’

Penalties

J. Simmonds 79’

M. Machenaud 64’

Yellow cards

T. Francis 70’

Match Page - Timeline

Timeline

FT

3127

Penalty 79'

J. Simmonds

-

Substitute 75'

A. Claassen

B. Palu

-

Substitute 75'

V. Vakatawa

O. Klemenczak

-

Yellow card 70'

T. Francis

-

Substitute 68'

I. Whitten

J. Nowell

-

Substitute 66'

J. Nowell

I. Whitten

-

Substitute 66'

B. Le Roux

D. Ryan

-

Substitute 64'

J. Maunder

S. Hidalgo-Clyne

-

Substitute 64'

S. Zebo

K. Beale

2827

Penalty 64'

M. Machenaud

-

Substitute 58'

I. Whitten

O. Devoto

-

Substitute 58'

J. Gray

S. Skinner

-

Substitute 55'

J. Vermeulen

J. Kirsten

-

Substitute 55'

L. Cowan-Dickie

J. Yeandle

-

Substitute 55'

H. Williams

T. Francis

-

Substitute 55'

A. Hepburn

B. Moon

-

Substitute 50'

G. Colombe

A. Oz

-

Substitute 50'

C. Chat

T. Baubigny

2824

Conversion 50'

M. Machenaud

2822

Try 49'

C. Chat

2817

Conversion 45'

J. Simmonds

2617

Try 44'

H. Slade

-

Missed conversion 43'

M. Machenaud

2117

Try 42'

S. Zebo

-

Substitute 41'

T. Iribaren

M. Machenaud

2112

Conversion 40'

J. Simmonds

1912

Try 39'

H. Williams

1412

Conversion 31'

F. Russell

1410

Try 31'

J. Imhoff

-

Missed conversion 20'

F. Russell

145

Try 19'

S. Zebo

140

Conversion 16'

J. Simmonds

120

Try 15'

S. Simmonds

70

Conversion 8'

J. Simmonds

50

Try 7'

L. Cowan-Dickie

Attack

Match Report - Team Stats (Attack)

52%

48%

52%

48%

Metres Gained

251

439

Tries

4

4

Carries

129

122

Defenders Beaten

18

28

Clean Breaks

6

10

Passes

132

150

Offloads

5

7

Turnovers Conceded

11

16

Defence

Match Report - Team Stats (Defence)

Tackles

148

151

Missed Tackles

28

18

Turnovers Won

7

8

Kicking

Match Report - Team Stats (Kicking)

Conversions (%)

100%

4/4

50%

2/4

Penalty goals (%)

100%

1/1

100%

1/1

Drop goals (%)

0%

0/0

0%

0/0

Kicks From Hand

17

21

Metres gained from kicks

570

555

Average metres per kick

33.53

26.43

Breakdown

Match Report - Team Stats (Breakdown)

Rucks (%)

94%

103/110

94%

96/102

Mauls (%)

100%

6/6

100%

6/6

Maul metres gained

14

4

Turnover in ruck or maul

5

3

Set Plays

Match Report - Team Stats (Set Piece)

Lineouts (%)

82%

14/17

90%

9/10

Scrums (%)

80%

4/5

100%

4/4

Restarts (%)

33%

2/6

0%

0/5

Discipline

Match Report - Team Stats (Discipline)

Penalties Conceded

10

12

Yellow Cards

1

0

Red Cards

0

0

Match Page - Player Performance

Key

M Metres Gained
Ca Carries
Pa Passes
Tk Tackles
MT Missed Tackles
TOW Turnovers Won
TAs Try Assists
O Offloads
CB Clean Breaks
Exeter Chiefs M Ca Pa Tk MT TOW TAs O CB
15 Stuart Hogg 17 5 3 5 2 2 0 0 1
14 Jack Nowell Ian Whitten 66' 21 9 4 4 0 0 1 3 1
13 Henry Slade 47 6 8 11 3 0 0 0 2
12 Ian Whitten Ollie Devoto 58' Jack Nowell 68' 12 4 3 5 3 1 0 0 0
11 Tom O'Flaherty 59 11 0 6 1 0 0 0 1
10 Joe Simmonds 0 4 16 7 4 0 0 0 0
9 Jack Maunder Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 64' 3 3 52 2 0 0 0 0 1
1 Alec Hepburn Ben Moon 55' 1 5 3 4 2 0 0 0 0
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie Jack Yeandle 55' 10 10 2 10 3 0 0 1 0
3 Harry Williams Tom Francis 55' 1 3 0 8 1 0 0 0 0
4 Jonny Gray Sam Skinner 58' 3 11 2 11 0 0 0 0 0
5 Jonny Hill 9 9 3 13 2 1 0 0 0
6 Dave Ewers 7 13 1 16 2 1 0 0 0
7 Jacques Vermeulen Jannes Kirsten 55' 4 3 5 5 3 0 0 1 0
8 Sam Simmonds 39 11 4 11 0 1 0 0 0
Replacements
16 Jack Yeandle Luke Cowan-Dickie 55' 1 6 0 5 0 0 0 0 0
17 Ben Moon Alec Hepburn 55' 0 2 1 6 1 0 0 0 0
18 Tom Francis Harry Williams 55' 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
19 Sam Skinner Jonny Gray 58' 1 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 0
20 Jannes Kirsten Jacques Vermeulen 55' 5 4 1 5 0 0 0 0 0
21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne Jack Maunder 64' 0 0 21 2 1 1 0 0 0
22 Gareth Steenson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 Ollie Devoto Ian Whitten 58' 8 6 2 4 0 0 0 0 0
Racing 92 M Ca Pa Tk MT TOW TAs O CB
15 Simon Zebo Beale 64' 61 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
14 Louis Dupichot 10 4 0 4 1 0 0 0 0
13 Virimi Vakatawa Klemenczak 75' 109 11 2 2 1 2 0 1 1
12 Henry Chavancy 20 8 3 8 1 0 0 2 0
11 Juan Imhoff 86 7 4 4 1 0 0 1 4
10 Finn Russell 22 7 30 9 4 0 2 1 0
9 Teddy Iribaren Maxime Machenaud 41' 16 5 48 3 2 0 0 0 0
1 Eddy Ben Arous 12 4 1 7 0 2 0 0 0
2 Camille Chat Baubigny 50' 9 11 2 9 2 0 0 1 1
3 Georges Henri Colombe Oz 50' 5 4 0 4 1 2 0 0 0
4 Bernard Le Roux Donnacha Ryan 66' 2 4 2 17 0 0 0 0 0
5 Dominic Bird 11 11 2 15 1 0 0 0 0
6 Wenceslas Lauret 3 6 1 18 0 1 0 0 0
7 Fabien Sanconnie 7 8 3 17 1 0 0 0 1
8 Antonie Claassen Palu 75' 22 10 5 9 2 0 0 0 0
Replacements
16 Teddy Baubigny Camille Chat 50' 0 0 0 6 1 1 0 0 0
17 Hassane Kolingar 2 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
18 Ali Oz Colombe 50' 7 5 1 5 0 0 0 0 0
19 Donnacha Ryan Bernard Le Roux 66' 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
20 Boris Palu Antonie Claassen 75' 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
21 Maxime Machenaud Iribaren 41' 14 3 41 4 0 0 0 0 1
22 Olivier Klemenczak Virimi Vakatawa 75' 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
23 Kurtley Beale Simon Zebo 64' 21 3 3 1 0 0 0 1 0

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