Match Centre: Exeter Chiefs 20-15 Bath Rugby
Henry Slade was one of Exeter's try scorer
©PA
Exeter Chiefs 20-15 Bath Rugby, Sandy Park
Exeter Chiefs successfully managed to overcome Bath Rugby as they sealed a 20-15 victory in the 13th round of the Gallagher Premiership at Sandy Park on Saturday.
The win has taken Exeter Chiefs to the sixth position in the table with 25 points while Bath are languishing at the 10th position with 19 points.
It took Exeter Chiefs just two minutes to open their account as Bath were pinged for not holding on and Joe Simmonds kicked a second minute penalty goal to get them off the mark.
Bath made an immediate response as they used a penalty advantage with winger Joe Cokanasiga diving in the corner for the opening try and Orlando Bailey kicked the conversion to make it 3-7.
The home side seized back the lead with their first try coming in the 16th minute as Dave Ewers bundled his way over and Simmonds improved it to make it 10-7.
The scores were levelled in the 22nd minute when Bailey kicked a three-pointer after Dafydd Jenkins was singled out for not rolling away before Exeter once again took the lead as Louis Schreuder’s attempted box kick was charged down by Henry Slade, who dotted down.
Simmonds kicked a conversion and also followed with a penalty goal as Rob Baxter's men completed the opening half with a 20-10 lead.
Exeter's indiscipline almost costed them as a number of penalties went against them with Bath looking for an opportunity to narrow down the deficit which they eventually achieved with Niall Annett diving from close range. Nevertheless, they could not find any more breakthroughs as the Chiefs completed a thrilling five point victory.
Team line up:
Exeter: Hodge, Nowell, Slade, Kata, Woodburn, J. Simmonds, Maunder; Sio, Yeandle (c), Williams, Jenkins, Gray, Ewers, Tshiunza, S. Simmonds.
Reserves: Frost, Iosefa-Scott, Schickerling, Dunne, Grondona, Cairns, Hendrickson, Hogg.
Bath: Gallagher, Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Redpath, McConnochie, Bailey, Schreuder; Boyce, Dunn, Rae, W. Spencer, Lee-Warner, Hill, Underhill, Bayliss.
Reserves: Annett, Morozov, Griffin, Attwood, Ellis, Spencer, Ojomoh, Reid.
