Racing 92 and Wasps know the double-seeking Chiefs will be relentless and intense but thwarting them is another matter
Before England played New Zealand in the 1995 World Cup semi-final in Cape Town, they did not pay too much attention to Jonah Lomu, the 19-year-old wing who was to reduce their defensive wall to rubble and reconstruct a game that was in the death throes of amateurism. “Nobody really knew much about him or his capabilities,” recalled the England No 8 that afternoon, Dean Richards, last year. “I do not think we did our due diligence on Lomu: we may have discussed him, but that was probably as much as we did do.”
England preferred to focus on themselves, although in the current era of constant analysis, they would have known what was coming. Lomu’s weapon was not stealth: being aware of what he was going to do was one thing, thwarting him another.
Written by Paul Rees
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/oct/15/forward-thinking-exeter-are-easy-to-see-coming-but-far-harder-to-stop under the title “The Breakdown | Forward-thinking Exeter are easy to see coming but far harder to stop”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
