Exeter 38-0 Harlequins: Henry Slade stars as Chiefs crush Quins

England centre Henry Slade scored two tries and kicked 13 points as Exeter continued their resurgence with a thumping Prem win over Harlequins.

The Chiefs scored three tries in a 10-minute first-half spell to stun Quins, with Slade at the heart of things as he set up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso's opener before being put through by Australian debutant Len Ikitau two minutes later.

Harvey Skinner made it 24-0 at the break as he capitalised on a Harlequins error, while Greg Fisilau went over in the corner four minutes after half-time for a bonus-point try.

A stifling defence ensured the hosts - who had almost two thirds of possession and territory - did not give up a point for the first time in almost two years before Slade got his second try in the final seconds.

The win moved Exeter up to fifth in the Prem table, while Harlequins - who last failed to score in a league game last December - stay third from bottom with one win from their first four fixtures.

Exeter were dealt a blow before kick-off when winger Paul Brown-Bampoe failed a late fitness test, allowing veteran winger Olly Woodburn to play for the first time in 10 months after recovering from a knee ligament injury.

Slade's early penalty put them in front in a scrappy first quarter as both sides made errors in the wet and windy conditions.

On a day when Australia centre Ikitau joined Exeter's much-vaunted backline, it was their longest-serving member Slade who showed his class when his 26th-minute kick-pass to the right was gathered by England team-mate Feyi-Waboso for his sixth try in four games.

Two minutes later, Slade turned from provider to scorer as Quins failed to deal with a high ball and Ikitau reacted quickest as he popped the ball to the England man to go in under the posts.

Quins' failure to deal with the high ball cost them again as Skinner pounced on the error and kicked past Tyrone Green before dotting down for the home side's third try as they took a commanding half-time lead, having had the wind at their backs.

Exeter's forwards - with Ikitau's Wallabies team-mate Tom Hooper also making his debut - went to work immediately after the break and created the opening for number eight Fisilau to go over in the left corner.

Chiefs replacement prop Bachuki Tchumbadze was then sin-binned for a high tackle 16 minutes after the break.

But, with the weather improving, Exeter's defence ensured Quins did not get anywhere near their line before the Londoners' skipper Caden Murley went to the bin for a deliberate knock-on with 12 minutes left as his desperation summed up his side's day.

They were further depleted when replacement Harry Browne was sin-binned for a high hit on Tchumbadze as their disappointing start to the season continued.

Slade put the gloss on Exeter's win as he went over from close range in the dying seconds following another spell of pressure from the home pack.

Exeter forwards coach Ross McMillan told BBC Sport:

"I thought we responded to the frustrations of last week.

"I don't think whoever came to Sandy Park this week thought they would get the full amount of frustration, but the guys showed that today.

"We spoke about Bristol and what we expect of each other and we came away from that game frustrated with ourselves.

"So I was really pleased, and I know, as a group, we were really pleased at the response."

Harlequins senior coach Jason Gilmore told BBC Sport:

"It was a reality check for us, and probably where we're sitting at the moment - if you compare two performances in eight days this is the consistency piece that I'm talking about with our football club.

"Our good is very good, but if we have an off day we have an off day. That's a challenge for us all and how we iron that out is, to me, the key part of this team competing better each week. I definitely think it's more mindset than anything.

"If you look at the game last week I think we won every aerial battle, we were hungry around the collision point, we showed really good fight.

"Whereas today, were we as energetic in the aerial battle? We hardly won any ball in the air today, Exeter did a great job there and dominated.

"Throughout the majority of the match they won their collision point, so it's not nice sitting there watching the boys go through that today."

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