EURFC started 2022 with a bang, as they swept aside Hartpury to silence the home crowd at the Alpas Arena, in a statement 44-21 victory.

In a rip-roaring first half, Exeter scored five tries, with a double for debutant Ollie Leatherbarrow, as well as scores from Max Bliss, Will Yarnell and Arthur Relton. In the second half, there were further scores for Jordan Bond and Tom Addison, with Josh Barton adding three conversions and Alec Lloyd-Seed a late penalty.

The hosts had opened the scoring through Scott Davies and added further tries in the second half from Matthew McNab and Bertie Stretch, but Exeter were always well clear.

Looking to keep in the race for the top four, it was the hosts who made the fast start, as Exeter gave up a series of quickfire penalties, to allow Joe Winfield to kick his side to within sight of the EURFC line.

The defence from Exeter though, stood firm, as a huge scrum against the head secured a statement penalty under the shadow of the posts.
Barton’s kick to touch though only provided a brief period of respite for Exeter, as the lineout went astray, allowing Hartpury to build possession back in the Exeter half. It was from that phase that the first try of the night arrived as well, with another penalty at the ruck allowing Winfield to throw caution to the wind, with a kick over to Stan Norman in the corner.

The wing was unable to gather the bouncing ball, but Hartpury scored from the following lineout, as a clever move saw Davies rumble over.

After defending for most of the opening period, Exeter finally had an opportunity in attack, as they rumbled over from a rolling maul themselves, Leatherbarrow the scorer just sixteen minutes into his BUCS Super Rugby debut.

Hartpury though, refused to let that score derail them, as they set about hammering the Exeter line, before a huge shot from Ollie Leatherbarrow forced a knock on.

From the resulting scrum, Exeter scored their own version of the try from the end of the Earth, as Relton scored his fourteenth BUCS Super Rugby try, breaking the club record in the process.

Off the base of the scrum, Leatherbarrow and Yarnell linked up with Tom Hitchcock, with the centre drawing in defenders for fun. Quick ball then allowed Barton and captain Olly White to spread the ball wide to Dan John, who showed an electric turn of pace to sprint clear and feed Relton. From there, the wing burst through his opposite number from halfway, before dotting down in the corner to spark wild celebrations.

Exeter were really in the groove now, as they harried and hassled Hartpury at the breakdown, forcing the hosts into a concession of penalties.
An initial burst from Leatherbarrow again left Hartpury’s defence at sixes and sevens, with Dan John tackled high.

Barton then kicked to the corner and the pack weren’t about to let the opportunity slip, Leatherbarrow barrelling over for his second of the night in a carbon copy of his earlier score.

EURFC were attacking at a rate of knots, with Hartpury left shellshocked by the intensity of the Exeter effort.

A bonus point try soon followed and again, it was another work of art. From the lineout, Hitchcock bulldozed his way through several tackles and crashed into the Hartpury 22. Quick ball again paid dividends for EURFC, with Barton feeding the ball to Bliss, who stepped inside and carved his way through the final tacklers, to dot down.

There was to be one final score in the first period for Exeter, as they ended a five-star first half performance with a try from scrum half Yarnell.
It was another fine first phase try off a lineout as well, with Yarnell feeding Relton to scythe through a gap and feed the ball back to his scrum half to dot down and cap a near perfect first 40 minutes for EURFC.

HALF-TIME SCORE: HARTPURY COLLEGE 7-31 EXETER UNIVERSITY

In the second period, there was always going to be a response from the hosts, and it arrived shortly after the referee’s whilst to resume the match.

Chasing a fast start and a way back into the match, a clever chip across to Norman, was collected and fed back inside to McNab, with the centre just having enough pace to evade the onrushing Relton and Bond to dot down, with fullback Brandon Wood converting.

Exeter though, were straight back to their task, with Leatherbarrow popping up with a mammoth break after an offload from Max Bliss. The number 8 carved through the defence, with only a last-ditch tackle from Norman denying him a hattrick score.

Hartpury though, gave up the penalty at the breakdown and from there, Exeter’s sixth of the evening followed. With an advantage coming Exeter’s way, Hitchcock fizzed the ball wide for Bond to dart over in the corner. It was some pass from the centre, who was causing puzzles all over the field for the hosts that they were unable to solve.

With the lead as it was, it was perhaps understandable that Exeter would be unable to maintain the rampaging speed of play from the first half, as Hartpury grew back into the match.

A series of lovely interlinking phases from their backs looked to have set Oliver Holliday free down the wing, only for a loud blast of the referee’s whistle to pull play back for a forward pass.

Hartpury continued to apply the pressure though, as they set up camp near the Exeter try line. That effort though ultimately came to nothing, as Exeter stole the lineout and soon hit the hosts with a sucker punch, as Tom Addison crashed over for his side’s seventh try, mere seconds after arriving on the field.

After Bond had been stopped illegally, Barton put his side back into the corner and from there, Addison drove over off the back of the maul to effectively end the game as a contest.

Again though, Hartpury continued to hunt for further tries, and they scored their third with little over fifteen minutes remaining, Stretch reaching over from close range after a series of forward carries close to the Exeter line.

The hosts now only needed one more try and they went hunting for it through McNab, before the centre was hauled down by Hitchcock. Hartpury continued to apply the pressure, as they searched for the score, but Exeter’s defence continued to hold firm, Harvey Dunn coming up with a crucial turnover for his side.

That turnover gave EURFC the opportunity to clear their lines and work their way up the field one final time, with Hartpury again penalised at the breakdown. That allowed Lloyd-Seed to slot the penalty to extend his side’s advantage and see out the game.

This was a crucial victory for EURFC, as they kept pace at the top of the table, ahead of next week’s South-West clash with Bath at Topsham.