Chiefs lay down marker
Exeter proved they will be no back numbers in the Amlin Challenge Cup this season with a 68-0 thrashing of Italian side Cavalieri Prato.
Last Updated: 19/11/11 5:51pm
Exeter proved they will be no back numbers in the Amlin Challenge Cup this season with a 68-0 thrashing of Italian side Cavalieri Prato.
Responding to last week's defeat in Perpignan the Chiefs proved irresistible at Sandy Park, romping to a 10-try victory that proved they will be a force in the tournament on home soil.
The Chiefs had raced to a 34-0 by half-time and had recorded the all-important bonus point when they crossed for their fourth try just before the break, but the Italian side's repeated indiscipline proved costly.
Flanker Emanuele Leonardi and No 8 Uili Kolo'ofai were both shown the yellow card by French referee Laurent Cardona and Cavalieri Prato played 20 minutes of the first half with only 14 men on the field of play.
The Chiefs trademark power, particularly at the scrum, just proved too much for the Italian part-timers who qualified as runners up in Italy's Super 10 championship last season and the home side were rewarded with two penalty tries in each half.
After the break, the Chiefs ran riot and crossed for a further five tries by Joseph Tatu, Mark Foster, James Phillips, Chris Bentley and Jack Nowell but coach Rob Baxter will also be delighted with his side's defence which kept the Italians to nil.
