Wales hopeful Kane James strengthened his case for a place in Wales' autumn matchday squad with another eye-catching display for Exeter Chiefs against Bath. Despite narrowly coming out on the losing side, James was superb in Friday night's big English Prem match, impressing in front of watching Wales selectors just a couple of weeks before the Nations Championship squad is named.
James wins three turnovers in thrilling defeat
The all-action flanker won three turnovers in the thrilling 36-40 defeat, receiving huge praise from pundits and fans alike. Planet Rugby picked out James and Cardiff-born England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso as the standout Exeter players, saying of James: "It’s not a surprise to those who have followed his progress over the past year, but he’s really maturing into a fine player. His desire to get the ball tonight deserves some serious plaudits, but he backed that up with sheer aggression and power in the contact to make consistent metres, as well as putting himself right in the mix at the breakdown with three turnovers. A statement effort from the back-rower."
James, 21, looks certain to be named in the Welsh squad this autumn and is tipped to become a key man by the time next year's Rugby World Cup comes along. He made his debut against Argentina during the summer after pledging his allegiance to the country of his birth despite playing for England at age-grade level.
Cardiff coach admits anxiety took hold
Cardiff Rugby head coach Corniel van Zyl admitted his side became anxious as they failed to turn the screw on Zebre from a commanding position. The Welsh team secured a bonus point 40-27 win at the Arms Park but were 40-8 up on the hour mark before letting the Italians edge back into the match with three second-half tries.
Van Zyl said: "We stuck to our task at times very well. Obviously, changes towards the end, that anxiety of being in front and what happens next probably kicked in a little bit. It's definitely something to work on. In terms of detail, kick-offs, contestable kicks were not on the money and they ultimately scored twice off that. It's all stuff we can control and we'll definitely take the win."
"Staying on task was the biggest issue. To be fair, we don't normally have that sort of lead so it was unfamiliar territory. We will break it down and make sure the small stuff is on point. We're proud of the fight we showed even if there were mistakes." Cardiff travel to Leinster next week on the back of two wins from two in the opening games of the season.
Edinburgh secure famous late win
Edinburgh secured a memorable win over Stormers in the second week of this season’s United Rugby Championship after a late try by Rory McHaffie. A low-scoring encounter went the way of the Scottish outfit after McHaffie produced an accomplished finish with nine minutes left at DAM Health Stadium.
Stormers had looked on course to leave Scotland with the points after a late turnaround via Hacjivah Dayimani’s 66th-minute score, but McHaffie had other ideas and Edinburgh were able to toast an excellent 17-13 win. James Grayson’s penalty with 13 on the clock were the only points of a close-fought first 40 where the radar of Stormers’ Yaqeen Ahmed was off, but two penalties at the start of the second half put the visitors in front.
Paul Hill’s 58th-minute score flipped the script with Grayson able to add the extras – only for a Dayimani try and Ahmed conversion enough to give Stormers a slender 13-10 advantage going into the closing stages. There was still time for McHaffie to have the final word when he scooped up a pass and raced over in the corner with Grayson able to kick the two points to help Edinburgh get over the line by a 17-13 score.
Bath delighted with win
Bath director of rugby Johann van Graan was delighted with another five points as he saw his side win an 11-try thriller in a pulsating West Country derby to go top of the Gallagher Prem table with a 40-34 win over Exeter at the Rec. Bath looked in control when they led 26-10 at the interval but the resurgent Chiefs, inspired by England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso rallied to lead 33-31 midway through the second half.
However a deliberate knock-on from Exeter’s scrum half Stephen Varney proved crucial as Bath were awarded a penalty try and Varney yellow carded. Cam Redpath, Dan du Preez, Bernard van der Linde, Ted Hill and Finn Russell scored Bath’s tries. There was also a penalty try award with Russell converting four. Feyi-Waboso scored two tries for Exeter, Jack Yeandle, Josh Iosefa-Scott and Varney were also on the try-scoring sheet with Henry Slade converting three. Harvey Skinner added a late penalty.
Van Graan said: "We wanted to start well and achieved this to build up a healthy first-half lead but they went on to dominate the third quarter. We then brought on our bench and obviously they made a big impact so we finished strongly to get a valuable five points in a game involving two very good sides. It was particularly pleasing to see Jacob Coetzee back in action. He’s been out for nearly two years and he and Will Stuart, who also returned made a big impact. One scrum in the first half was huge as we shunted them backwards. It was a big momentum shift as we went to the corner and scored from there."
