Barely human 135kg mega-man smashes Exeter Chiefs
By Rugby Onslaught

Barely human 135kg mega-man smashes Exeter Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs are a side that are used to bullying their opponents up front and dishing out punishment, so it is quite rare that they are on the receiving end of such treatment.

But the Chiefs faced a bruising Montpellier pack on Sunday at the GGL Stadium in the Heineken Champions Cup, spearheaded by France lock Paul Willemse in a 37-26 win for his side. The 135kg beast in the second row was at his physical best against the 2020 European champions, and laid down quite a marker ahead of the Six Nations.

The 29-year-old was destructive in defence and added a try for good measure to cap off a brilliant performance. His combination with Bastien Chalureau in the second row brings a serious amount of mass to their pack. Yoe91 Rugby has shared a montage of Willemse’s performance on YouTube, take a look:

The win ensured Montpellier’s qualification to the round of 16, despite their 89-7 loss to Leinster the week before. They will now face Gallagher Premiership champions Harlequins in April. Meanwhile, Exeter had already qualified going into the match, but obviously a loss meant that they had a lower seeding.  They will face Munster in the next round, who were unbeaten in the group stages.

Montpellier
15 Anthony Bouthier
14 Gabriel N’gandebe
13 Yvan Reilhac
12 Jan Serfontein
11 Vincent Rattez
10 Louis Foursans-Bourdette
9 Gela Aprasidze
1 Enzo Forletta
2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa
3 Mohamed Haouas
4 Bastien Chalureau
5 Paul Willemse
6 Nicolaas Janse Van Rensburg
7 Yacouba Camara
8 Zach Mercer

Replacements
16 Guihem Guirado
17 Robert Rodgers
18 Henry Thomas
19 Alexandre Becognee
20 Cobus Reinach
21 Paolo Garbisi
22 Thomas Darmon
23 Florian Verhaeghe

Exeter Chiefs
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Jack Nowell
13 Henry Slade
12 Sean O’Brien
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Jack Maunder
1 Ben Moon
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Sam Nixon
4 Sean Lonsdale
5 Sam Skinner
6 David Ewers
7 Jannes Kirsten
8 Sam Simmonds

Replacements
16 Jack Innard
17 James Kenny
18 Patrick Schickerling
19 Christ Tshiunza
20 Don Armand
21 Sam Maunder
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Olly Woodburn

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