Vermeulen double inspires Exeter to emphatic victory against Gloucester

A glance at the team sheet suggested this might be a difficult afternoon for Gloucester and so it proved. Exeter’s international contingent, led by Wales’s Dafydd Jenkins and spearheaded by virtuoso displays by England internationals Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Henry Slade, kept their playoff hopes alive with a fluent bonus-point victory.

Slade kicked 13 points – a perfect six out of six – and stylishly contributed to a fluid attacking display from Rob Baxter’s men, who scored five tries. Jacques Vermeulen got two, one in each half, while Dan John and Olly Woodburn crossed before the break and Feyi-Waboso sealed the bonus point after it. Exeter host Harlequins at Sandy Park in a couple of weeks’ time before a final Premiership assignment away against Leicester at Welford Road. While the attack functioned well in this South-West derby, they will need to sharpen up defensively to force their way into the playoffs.

Jonny May – who revealed this week he will leave Kingsholm at the end of the season, probably for a move abroad – crossed for a try, along with Jack Clement and Arthur Clark, to give the Cherry and Whites some hope - but they could easily have trailed by a lot more than 14 points at half-time, and were mostly outclassed by more cohesive opponents.

The Chiefs were dynamic in possession from the start and Slade’s penalty capitalised on their early possession on six minutes. A smart charge down by Tom Cairns, the Exeter No 9, nearly led to the opening try before Gloucester launched a rare raid downfield and Max Llewellyn knocked on as he sprinted over the line, with Woodburn desperately attempting a tackle.

Feyi-Waboso threatened early and often, busting through tackles and tearing into space whenever it appeared. Unfortunately for George Skivington’s side that was occurring with worrying frequency and the medical student looked a class apart following his introduction to the Six Nations by Steve Borthwick, the England head coach, in the past few months.

It was Feyi-Waboso’s burst on the Chiefs’ left that created field position for Vermeulen, the openside, to bash over from short range for a classic Exeter score after 14 minutes. The home defence looked increasingly chaotic and Jenkins, wearing the captain’s armband, personified their blend of silk and steel, his distribution often proving telling.

Exeter’s wing Woodburn nearly pulled off an interception when Gloucester found themselves in unfamiliar territory – the Exeter 22 – but his knock on was snaffled by Jake Morris, who offloaded to May in plenty of space on the right wing for a simple finish just before the half-hour mark.

Feyi-Waboso’s evasiveness was on show again when an excellent Jenkins offload off the floor gave him a glimpse of the line. He wriggled in contact and reached for the try but lost it forward. But Slade immediately ran a superb line around the corner on the left wing, Jenkins feeding the outside centre, and Woodburn applying the finish for the third try and Gloucester staring down the barrel.

It was Gloucester who began brightly soon after the break – Morris narrowly failed to reduce their arrears when he was forced into touch in the corner – before Harvey Skinner, the impressive Exeter fly-half, produced a superb floating pass for Feyi-Waboso on the right. He had a straightforward task to finish, such was the quality of the pass, and the bonus point secured.

Slade nailed a difficult fourth conversion to make it five out of five – international class counting again – but Skivington’s men were immediately back in with a glimmer of hope when Clark’s charge down allowed him to flop over for the hosts’ third try. Baxter’s men were still in the ascendancy, though, and Vermeulen powered over for his second try on 59 minutes to largely extinguish Gloucester’s hopes of a comeback. Thankfully for Skivington they need not worry about relegation: but Baxter’s achievements with a new-look squad this season shows there is plenty of hard work ahead for Gloucester.