Heward earns win for Bristol against Exeter with rain stopping open play

So much rain has been falling out west this week that Bristol could almost have floated down to Devon in canoes. Add in more heavy downpours, a tricky wind and a horribly slippery ball and there was never any chance of a free-flowing, fast-paced spectacle between two of the league’s more fluent attacking sides. This was a sodden slog, pure and simple, with only a rainbow or two to add a splash of colour.

Not that the Bears will care much about the trench warfare nature of a victory that consolidates them in third position and above their opponents in the play-off race going into the Prem’s two-month hiatus. On an afternoon demanding character, perseverance and effort the visitors displayed all three, a first-half try from the appropriately named Noah Heward ultimately edging an old-school wrestling match.

Exeter’s tactical kicking was frequently not good enough and they completely failed to get their potential match-winner Manny Feyi-Waboso into the game. Another of their England call-ups, Greg Fisilau, worked tirelessly without too much reward in an increasingly tense, error-strewn contest. Bristol’s defence, though, was excellent with their director of rugby Pat Lam highlighting a tackle count of 155 with just nine missed.

As was the case at home to Bordeaux last Sunday, Bristol would have ideally preferred a dry ball and a hard track. These kind of conditions seriously dilute their slick handling game and, in the past, they have not always found it easy to switch to more pragmatic mode. On this occasion, however, they dug in stoutly and were significantly rewarded. They have won eight of their last nine games in all competitions and Lam believes there is more to come. “Winning today was another final because they hadn’t previously lost here this season,” said Lam. “I’m very proud of that effort.”

The local faithful will have to wait a long time for their team to make amends. The Prem is about to vanish off the radar during the Six Nations and the Chiefs’ next league game is against Sale on 21 March. The desire not to clash with the international period is all very well, but it really does kill the momentum of the league season stone dead.

Driving rain prevented both sides from playing the attacking rugby that has brought them success in the first half of the season. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty Images

At least there is a chance it could be drier by then. At times in the first-half the rain hammered down so hard it was all but impossible for either side to hang on to the ball for more than a couple of phases. The loss of their Wallaby flanker Tom Hooper, who limped off with a knee injury after just eight minutes, also disrupted Exeter’s plans to thunder into the Bears around the fringes.

Having opted to play with the elements at their backs in the opening 40 minutes, the onus was on Bristol to build up as big a lead as they could. However they were kept scoreless until the 36th minute when a defensive error gave the visitors a rare attacking field position and Louis Rees-Zammit’s long pass gave Heward the chance to leave his ark and slide over on the right.

Tom Jordan, though, missed a penalty attempt from slap in front of the posts and the only other points of the half came from Henry Slade, who steered a left-footed penalty through the uprights like a scratch golfer drilling a three-iron into the teeth of the elements.

With the rain temporarily easing, however, the conditions were not quite as bad after the break. Rees-Zammit dropped a high ball which threatened to be costly but a prolonged siege close to the Bears’ line ultimately delivered no home reward.

There was soon to be another reprieve, Slade narrowly missing a 50-metre effort with his kicking range now significantly assisted. Exeter were growing steadily more frustrated with Ellis Genge earning one particularly morale-boosting scrum penalty to ease the pressure once more. With stress levels rising, a 79th minute penalty from James Williams made sure of a hard-earned win that had previously looked unlikely.

Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, still believes his side will be in decent shape when the Prem restarts. “Those were really tough conditions … a West Country game of rugby. Bristol have shaded the areas that ended up being really important. Our mistakes hurt us more than their mistakes hurt them. If Sladey’s kick goes over and we’re 6-5 up, we could be sitting here going ‘What a result.’ Ultimately it’s just flipped the other way.”