Decorating the house can be a demanding and arduous task. Selecting the right paints and wallpapers, choosing the right tools, and picking the best colours and tiles present a few challenges, but it's not rocket science. Competing in the Premiership, however, is.
Gone are the days when a game plan consisted of 'keep it tight and kick the corners' or 'play safe for the first 60 and run it wide in the last 20'. No, today's Premiership rugby demands meticulous planning, exhaustive preparation and slide rule precision in the execution.
A game can often be decided on a single moment of brilliance or a fumbling, ghastly mistake. I've heard some cynics claim that refereeing decisions decide as many games as the players. Indeed, our head coach Rob Baxter is on record as saying that we must take the game beyond the referees, and listening to Leicester's Richard Cockerill's comments after Tigers' defeat on Saturday, the point is made.
It's been a more-than-encouraging start to the season for the Chiefs. Sitting fourth in the league thinking we could be even higher with just a little more luck is so much better than the misery of ruing that we let it slip by just a single score or that an unfortunate lack of discipline saw us concede that penalty in the dying seconds to cost us the game.
So what's my point? Well, the decorators on and off the field at Sandy Park have performed like nuclear scientists to produce a stadium, a pitch and a team that are deservedly entitled to dine at the top table.
TV announcers and media commentators around the land are reporting the excellence of Chiefs' Sandy Park HQ, the growing qualities of our team and the immense potential coming through the ranks with Baxter's Babes. These are indeed exciting times. History is being written by our team, our directors, our coaches, our fans and our sponsors.
Yes, it's early season, yes, there is loads more rugby to be played, and yes, it's easy to slip from grace, but make no mistake, the Chiefs have announced with the clarity and volume of a town crier that Exeter means business.
Sunday was a big day for our club and community. Quins were in town complete with their compliment of big-name players and a reputation that dates back forever. Yet they were not the bookies' favourites for this encounter. Despite the odds, there was a job to be done. We could and should have beaten the mighty Leicester, but we fell just short on that day as we so often did in the pressure cooker of last year's Premiership challenge. Would we stand the test? Would the right decisions be made? Would our discipline hold? And could we put the result beyond the whistle of a referee? The answer was emphatic – yes.
Exe passed the test set by the best Quins had to offer, our players made the right decisions, kept their discipline and even managed to score with one of our international wingers sitting in the sin bin. Enough of my eulogy for now. Let's pick a few moments to savour and a few questions to consider.
The impact of Thomas Waldrom has been seismic. The Tank has burst on the scene announcing his presence with massive carries, yards made, crunching tackles and points scored, but he is not alone. Stepping in to fill the boots of Dean Mumm was not going to be easy, but Mitch Lees has risen to the challenge alongside that time-proven leviathan of the second row, Damian Welch.
What a moment it was on Sunday when Mitch and Thomas closed in on Ben Botica to charge down his kick. Mitch got a hand to it to launch Waldrom racing forward to collect the ball and go over for that memorable score.
Enough Chiefs musings for now – on to the Battle of Astley Park. It was always going to be tough for the Mighty Muff at Brixham on Saturday. Two unbeaten teams came face to face for a National Three South West test that only one could pass. We were ready for the challenge, but when the Brixham players ran onto the pitch and the applause of the adoring home crowd rose to a roar – not quite in Sandy Park volume but enough to raise the rafters of their packed home stand – I knew this was going to be an uncompromising Devon derby.
Brixham, nicknamed the Fishermen, started as if their backsides were on fire. Wave after wave of determined committed runners battered our scrambling defence. It was as if the Fishermen were intent on netting, filleting and battering us to send us home neatly processed and packaged. The Cockles' resistance was defiant and firm – only the boot of Brixham's Lovell breached our defences in the early stages. Yours truly admits to putting his head up once or twice in search of cool, clean oxygen to refresh burning lungs and also to collect the unwanted fist of an opponent who will not be named. However, the young Muff powered on to a man like the mighty warriors they are rapidly becoming.
Summoning up all our reserves of strength and skill, the players showed they really are muscles on cockles. Raising our effort to lung-bursting excellence, we took the game to the hosts. Refusing to lose on this famous day, we battered Brixham's defence in a superb effort that proved irresistible. Even a disallowed try out wide could not halt the Exmouth onslaught. With just seconds remaining, young Ben Hawley crashed over for the try that was to decide this game. I'm obliged to announce that man of the match was awarded to some chap named Chris Bentley, but the reality was that there were 20 stand-out players for Exmouth on the day.
This week Exmouth host Chard in another derby. It promises to be another cracker at the Imperial Ground on Saturday (2.30pm). I look forward to seeing you there!
After the momentous events of last week, life continues as ever in beautiful autumnal Devon. Exeter are away at Kingston Park to Dean Richards' Newcastle Falcons. Yours truly is hoping that head wounds will have healed sufficiently for me to line up with Exmouth. Wife Hayley's baby bump continues to grow, Baby B persists to punctuate my sleep with her nocturnal demands for the 4am story, but there's no swimming challenge, for this week at least.
But, when what you did last week still looks good today, perhaps you've not done much today? When all's said and done, we're only as good as our last result, so it's business as usual and back to work for all involved in Devon rugby.
Until the next time, stay safe and enjoy your rugby.
