Toby Booth was quick to praise the efforts of Exeter after London Irish claimed a hard-fought 12-9 victory against the Chiefs.
London Irish head coach praises Chiefs after narrow victory
Toby Booth was quick to praise the efforts of Exeter after London Irish claimed a hard-fought 12-9 victory against the Chiefs on Saturday.
The Exiles remain top of the Aviva Premiership table after escaping from Sandy Park with four points due to a late penalty from Ryan Lamb.
The contest was closely-fought throughout and the newly-promoted hosts had visions of another upset when they took a 9-6 lead in the second half.
And Exiles head coach Booth highlighted Exeter's organisation as a reason his side struggled in the first half.
"It was a game of two halves - they won the first and we won the second," he said after the match.
Impressed
"I was really impressed with Exeter, they were well organised, well coached and very committed."
The Chiefs failed to take advantage of Delon Armitage's sin-binning as an inability to compete in the lineout meant they could not capitalise on the one-man advantage.
"Our lineout grew much stronger as the game wore on. We used our Premiership experience of previous pressure cookers to get us home," Booth said.
He added: "We are still learning - we have a long way to go. The last three seasons we've been near the top of the Premiership at Christmas but have fallen away so it's important we maintain the momentum."
Exeter boss Rob Baxter was left rueing the fact that his side had lost the lineout battle but was satisfied with other aspects of their performance.
Strong
"It was comfortably our worst lineout performance of the season but all credit to London Irish as they are very strong in that department," he said.
He added: "I was pleased with our overall performance. Our work ethic and endeavour was there in spades but I'm a little disappointed and we learnt a tough lesson today."
"There were too many unforced errors, we let the game slip through our fingers but not many sides will stop Irish from scoring a try in 80 minutes of rugby."
The hosts were hampered by the loss of influential fly-half Gareth Steenson and Baxter said he did not yet know the extent of the leg injury that forced him off after an hour.
"It's too early to assess the damage. He seems okay but nothing is certain until he has a scan in the next couple of days," the head coach said.
