Will Evans’ Double Try Performance Secures Harlequins’ Victory, Inflicting Record Losing Streak on Exeter

Harlequins defeated Exeter, with Will Evans contributing two tries, thereby handing the Chiefs a club-record sixth consecutive Premiership loss. The final score was Exeter 19 (Tries: Vintcent, Rigg, Hammersley; Conversions: Slade 2) to Harlequins 36 (Tries: Beard, Isgro, W Evans 2, Murley; Conversions: J Evans 4; Penalties: J Evans). This season, all three of Will Evans’ tries have been scored against the Premiership’s two lowest-ranked teams. The Harlequins flanker capitalized on Exeter’s vulnerable defense, contributing to the visitors scoring three tries within the initial 25 minutes of the match, despite missing additional scoring opportunities. Exeter, the home team, saw Henry Slade feature for the first time this season following shoulder surgery. They mounted a comeback, with debutant Will Rigg scoring a try that reduced the deficit to five points by halftime. Early in the second half, both teams had tries disallowed following video replays. Subsequently, Evans scored another try for Harlequins, which was quickly answered by a try from Ben Hammersley. With 15 minutes remaining, Jarrod Evans’ penalty kick increased the lead to 10 points. Cadan Murley then scored a try in the final minute, as Harlequins ultimately prevailed in the breakdown contest. This victory marked Harlequins’ first win at Sandy Park in a decade, elevating them to fifth position in the league standings. Exeter has not secured a win since their 58-26 victory over Harlequins in the corresponding fixture during the penultimate round of last season. They remain second from bottom in the table, one position above Newcastle, who last week concluded their 25-game losing streak against the Chiefs, with Exeter’s standing supported by their five losing bonus points. Since their promotion to the top flight in 2010, Exeter had not previously experienced a sequence of six consecutive losses within a single season. England centre Henry Slade played 54 minutes for Exeter, marking his first appearance since undergoing shoulder surgery after the summer tour to New Zealand. Harlequins entered the match without England international players Marcus Smith, Alex Dombrandt, and Fin Baxter. Meanwhile, Slade, their national team counterpart, played in the Exeter midfield for the first time since England’s defeat to the All Blacks in Auckland. Harlequins commenced the game exceptionally well, and would have held a two-try lead within the initial 10 minutes had it not been for two crucial try-saving tackles. Debutant Rigg prevented Will Evans from scoring in the second minute, and an impressive tap tackle by Olly Woodburn brought down Oscar Beard following Tyrone Green’s effective defense-splitting run. Harlequins’ sustained pressure ultimately resulted in Oscar Beard scoring a try as Exeter’s defense faltered with missed tackles. However, immediately following the restart, the hosts responded with a well-executed series of attacking phases, culminating in Olly Woodburn assisting Ross Vintcent for his first try of the season. Only two minutes thereafter, Isgro forcefully scored in the right corner, marking his third try in two appearances for Harlequins, as Exeter’s defense once more struggled. Their inadequate tackling was subsequently exploited for Will Evans’ try, who advanced through the midfield after Jack Kenningham had been stopped short of the try line by Rigg following a break by Lennox Anyanwu. Notwithstanding the visiting team’s dominance, Exeter displayed a dangerous offensive capability when in possession. Rigg capitalized on an excellent pick-up by Josh Hodge to score for the former Coventry player near the end of the half, allowing Exeter to enter the interval still closely contesting with Danny Wilson’s team. Exeter commenced the second half mirroring Harlequins’ strong start to the first; Paul Brown-Bampoe was forced into touch while attempting to score in the left corner within the opening minute, and shortly thereafter, Exeter successfully defended a five-metre line-out against Harlequins, which helped to bolster their precarious defensive confidence. Exeter received an additional boost when a superb kick-pass from Isgro connected with Green, who scored under the posts, only for the try to be disallowed due to a forward pass in the preceding play. Harlequins secured their bonus point try 13 minutes into the second half, with Will Evans scoring his second try following pressure at the breakdown. However, Exeter responded within four minutes, as Josh Hodge’s excellent footwork created an opportunity for Ben Hammersley to score his inaugural Premiership try for the club. With 15 minutes remaining, Cadan Murley had a try disallowed due to a foot in touch. Nevertheless, an infringement during the preceding play allowed Jarrod Evans to convert a straightforward penalty kick, extending the lead to 10 points. Exeter made efforts to secure a fourth try, but Harlequins maintained their defense and subsequently scored a fifth try, a result arguably merited by their overall performance. Replacement Danny Care broke free down the left wing and delivered a kick for Murley to touch down. Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, commented to BBC Sport: “The truth is we look a little bit stuck in the headlights don’t we?” He added: “When Quins had the ball it almost looked like we couldn’t get on the move.” Baxter further stated: “I’m not going to try and make light of anything, we’ve got a lot of hard work to get done.” He continued: “I’m not going to even stand here and go, ‘it’s this area, it’s that area’, by the end we were missing line-outs, we’re missing tackles, we’re making errors in attack, we start to lose our way.” Baxter concluded: “It’s kind of what the situation creates, I’ve just got to keep working extremely hard to bring us through the situation as positive as we can.” Harlequins attack coach Nick Evans informed BBC Sport: “Result-wise, five points, scoring 30-odd points down here, with my attack head on, after 15 minutes, I’m probably thinking, ‘why are we not 25 points up?'” He added: “We butchered a couple of opportunities, we were creating a lot.” Evans further stated: “The plan we had during the week was working and we just weren’t quite nailing it, so we probably made it a little bit more nerve-wracking towards the end than we needed to.” He concluded: “But I think the result was really important coming off last week, which was really disappointing to let Bath back in the game and win it, when we felt we were in a good position in control of that game.” The Exeter lineup included: Hodge; Woodburn, Slade, Rigg, Brown-Bampoe; Haydon-Wood, Becconsall; Sio (captain), Frost, Painter, Molina, Capstick, Vintcent, Vermeulen, Fisilau. Replacements were: Yeandle, Goodrick-Clarke, Street, Tuima, Roots, Townsend, Skinner, Hammersley. Harlequins’ team consisted of: Green; Isgro, Beard, Anyanwu, Murley; J Evans, Porter; Els, Walker, Lamositele, Herbst, Lewies, Kenningham, W Evans, Chisholm. Replacements were: Jibulu, Jones, Kerrod, Launchbury, Lawday, Care, Benson, David. The match referee was Adam Leal.