Bath 26-18 Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs suffered their third defeat in a row as Bath came from behind to win a thrilling contest and keep alive their hopes of a top 6 finish.
First Half
Bath started the match in a determined fashion and pinned the Chiefs back in their own half for the first 5 minutes of the game. But Exeter withstood the early onslaught and were the first team to get points on the board seven minutes in. The referee spotted an infringement during a scrum in front of the Bath posts and Gareth Steenson had no trouble in converting the simple penalty.
This seemed to inject some confidence into the visitors and on the 18th minute mark they added a try to move 8 points in front. Matt Jess produced a nice pass to Luke Arscott who then chipped the ball over the home defence. Arscott was the first to the ball and with Matt Banahan breathing down his neck he managed to cross the whitewash near the left hand touchline. This time Steenson couldn't quite manage to convert.
Bath came back with a vengeance though and after some strong attacking play were awarded a penalty after an Exeter player handled in the ruck. Butch James made no mistake to grab an easy three points.
The game was turning into a great spectacle as Exeter came back with chances of their own but when it looked like a try was in the offing Richard Baxter could only find a Bath player with his pass inside.
This proved to be costly as James converted yet another penalty shortly after to reduce the deficit to two points.
Bath completed their first half comeback near the break with their first try of the match. James drew a defender over with a clever run before passing back inside to Banahan. The big winger had the simple task of sliding over near the posts and James converted to put Bath in front at half-time.
Half Time: Bath 13-8 Exeter Chiefs
Second Half
That try near half time had clearly swung the match completely in favour of Bath as they flew out of the blocks for the second period.
They grabbed their second try of the match only four minutes in and it was a terrific team effort. The ball was worked across field to Banahan who waited for the perfect moment to produce a nice one handed offload to Matt Carraro. The Aussie centre raced away down the right hand side to score the try but this time James couldn't quite convert.
As Bath continued to have the majority of the play Exeter weren't helping themselves by giving away needless penalties. They conceded their 9th of the game in a scrum and James gratefully added three points to the Bath tally.
The Chiefs did finally manage to muster a response though and Steenson converted a long range penalty after Junior Poluleuligaga and Neil Clark produced some good play for the team from Devon.
This could have been the catalyst for the Chiefs to push on but they were hampered when former Bath player James Scaysbrook was sin binned around 20 minutes from time.
Bath used their one man advantage to heap the pressure on and after a series of collapsed scrums in Exeter's 22, Hoani Tui became the second Exeter player to be yellow carded.
Despite having only 13 men Exeter didn't give in and it wasn't until the 70th minute that Bath finally got their third try. Nathan Catt was the man that made it with a brilliant 40 metre run from his own 22. As defenders began to close in the young prop had the presence of mind to pop the ball off to the onrushing Michael Claassens who dived over. James failed to convert but now Bath were 15 points ahead at 26-11.
Exeter didn't lie down though and replacement fly half Igancio Mieres was at the centre of a nice little move which resulted in Jess touching down in the corner two minutes from time. Mieres added the conversion but sadly for Exeter there wasn't enough time for them to try and grab a bonus point.
Full Time: Bath 26-18 Exeter Chiefs
Bath needed to win this match after losing three on the bounce and Steve Meehan will hope they can now put on a little run for the last few games of the season. Exeter will be glad to get back home to Sandy Park after losing all three of their recent away trips and Rob Baxter must make sure that their season doesn't finish with a whimper.
Man of the match “ Matt Banahan
Bath
Tries: Banahan (1), Carraro (1), Claassens (1)
Penalties: James (3)
Conversions: James (1)
Exeter Chiefs
Tries: Arscott (1), Jess(1)
Penalties: Steenson (2)
Conversions: Mieres (1)
Sin Binned: Scaysbrook, Tui
