AN ATTACKING game filled with fight and flair was countered by a dismal defensive display at Sixways as Worcester Warriors lost 38-33 in an enthralling encounter on Saturday
There appeared to be only one winner after 46 minutes as Exeter Chiefs cut through some tame tackling to put themselves 35-18 in front
But the hosts refused to throw in the towel and they produced a superb fightback, with tries coming from Agustin Creevy and David Lemi to a leave a tense finale
However, their late rally was not enough to claim all the five points as Exeter clung on and director of rugby Dean Ryan was instead left cursing his side’s hapless defending in the opening period
“The end result is going to create the headlines, but the reality was we were too soft in the first half and we were not clinical enough about knowing our jobs,” he said
“Exeter were very smart and they gave themselves too much of a lead for us to chase back
“The irony was that we were probably at our best in attack today, but we were at our poorest defensively
Two of their tries were off no play at all, so we need to get better at that if we want to win games
”
Warriors had finally won a game having defeated Newcastle Falcons two weeks ago, but any hopes of backing it up appeared to be dashed following a disastrous half an hour
The floodgates opened on the tenth minute when Dave Lewis strolled through to score before Fetu’u Vainoko sent his side on the attack again
After the wing sliced through the heart of Warriors’ defence, the ball swiftly moved wide and Sam Hill went over in the corner, which Gareth Steenson once again converted
Ryan Lamb slotted home a penalty in between the two tries, but the fly half was overshadowed by his opposite number, Steenson, who notched up Exeter’s third try
Moments after Lamb saw his penalty effort cannon off the post, Steenson went in under the posts and dispatched the conversion to move his side 21-3 in front
There was some hope for Warriors, though, as Chris Pennell dived over after mounting heavy pressure on Exeter’s line before Lemi produced another moment to savour
The Samoan pounced on his kick and chase to score, which Lamb converted to claw Worcester back into the contest
But it was the visitors who had the final say in a largely dominant first half showing as Jack Yeandle finished off a well-controlled lineout drive and Steenson added the extras
Lamb got Worcester off the mark in the second half with a penalty, but the home fans were fearing the worst for their side when Ben Moon set up Yeandle for his second try
Despite the deficit, Warriors showed no signs of giving up as they hit back with a try from Creevy, which Lamb converted
A Steenson penalty increased Exeter’s lead, but Worcester continued to crank up the pressure and it told as James Scaysbrook saw yellow before Lemi received Lamb’s long pass to touch down in the corner
Suddenly, Warriors had all the momentum and they threw everything at Chiefs in search of a match-winning score
Lamb ensured another bonus point with a penalty late on, but Ryan’s men could not claim the win they desired as Josh Drauniniu knocked on at the death