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Exeter Chiefs No.8 Sam Simmonds
Exeter Chiefs will look to end DHL Stormers’ winning four-match sequence in the Heineken Champions Cup when they host the South African side in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
The Stormers have bounced back from a Round 1 loss on their competition debut at ASM Clermont Auvergne to defeat London Irish twice and Clermont in their remaining Pool B games, before edging home 32-28 against Harlequins at the DHL Stadium in the Round of 16.
Exeter also had a 3-1 win-loss ratio in Pool A, but their defeat came in Round 3, when they succumbed 39-28 at Vodacom Bulls, having beaten them at Sandy Park. They also notched a double, against Castres Olympique.
However, they only qualified for the quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth, knocking out Montpellier Hérault Rugby at Sandy Park on superior try count, after normal and extra time had left the sides deadlocked at 33-33.
The clubs’ first Heineken Champions Cup meeting kicks off at 17:30 UK and Irish time, and can be watched on BT Sport, beIN SPORTS, SuperSport and FloRugby.
Key quote
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter: “You can tell they are a team that plays together, that plays for each other. That makes them a very dangerous opponent.”
DHL Stormers centre Ruhan Nel is loving the intensity in the knock-out phase of the Heineken Champions Cup, which will be taken up a notch in the quarterfinal against Exeter Chiefs this weekend.https://t.co/zO4W7FBIYU #iamastormer #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/78GYFvzMuU
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) April 6, 2023
Exeter Chiefs
- The Chiefs have averaged more metres in contact per 80 minutes than any other team in the Heineken Champions Cup this season (139.2).
- They have also averaged the second most carries (134).
- In the Round of 16 Sam Simmonds made more carries than any other player (20).
DHL Stormers
- Damien Willemse has made the joint most offloads in the competition this season (11) but also conceded the most turnovers (13).
- Deon Fourie has notched a tournament-high 12 turnovers, including four in the Round of 16.
- Manie Libbok made four retained kicks last weekend – the joint most by a fly-half.
Exeter wing Olly Woodburn was Heineken Star of the Match against DHL Stormers
Exeter Chiefs booked their place in the Heineken Champions Cup semi-finals with a convincing 42-17 win over DHL Stormers at Sandy Park on Saturday.
The 2020 champions bossed proceedings and crossed through Tom Wyatt, Jack Nowell, Olly Woodburn, Sam Simmonds and Tom Cairns, with Joe Simmonds converting all six scores for a personal haul of 12 points.
Heineken Champions Cup debutants DHL Stormers struggled to find their feet on the road but managed three second-half tries courtesy of Damian Willemse, Suleiman Hartzenberg and Marvin Orie.
The break from @OllyWoodburn 🔥
The kick from @joesimmo10 🎯
An easy score for Tom Wyatt 🙌It's the @ExeterChiefs who strike first at Sandy Park!
Watch all the #HeinekenChampionsCup action live on @btsportrugby, @SuperSportTV, @beinsports_FR and @FloRugby pic.twitter.com/H4eJtQ23It
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 8, 2023
Exeter took control early on and were rewarded for their domination of the ball when wing full-back Wyatt cruised over on 13 minutes following a pinpoint cross-field kick from fly-half Joe Simmonds.
The hosts crossed again on 21 minutes as wing Nowell picked up at the base of a ruck and muscled through the heart of the DHL Stormers defence, wriggling through two tackles and reaching out to plant down under the posts.
With errors littering DHL Stormers’ game, Chiefs notched a third try on 29 minutes – a slick lineout move saw centre Sean O’Brien release wing Woodburn, who finished expertly.
Joe Simmonds couldn’t extend Exeter’s advantage on 33 minutes as his penalty drifted onto the right upright and bounced away, though his side would take a healthy 21-0 lead into the break.
Sam-azing 😆@samsimmonds_ spots a gap and bursts through it, scoring @ExeterChiefs' 4️⃣th try!
They lead the Stormers 28-0 😳#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/lDdJtld9bA
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) April 8, 2023
DHL Stormers were improved after the restart, but Exeter grabbed a fourth try on their first attack of the second half, No.8 Sam Simmonds hitting a flat ball and diving over unchallenged.
Scores from full-back Willemse and wing Willemse offered DHL Stormers some hope heading into the final 20 minutes, but Exeter gave themselves some added breathing room when replacement hooker Yeandle planted down at the back of a lineout maul.
DHL Stormers’ semi-final hopes were up in smoke after that score, but they had a third try on 76 minutes after a lengthy TMO review saw lock Orie’s effort awarded.
But Exeter signed off with a sixth try as they capitalised on a Willemse error, Woodburn offloading into the hands of replacement scrum-half Cairns, who could dot down with ease.
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