Exeter Chiefs maintain winning streak with 35-18 triumph over Sale Sharks
Alex Cuthbert scored a second half try for Exeter Chiefs
©PA
Exeter Chiefs 35-18 Sale Sharks, Sandy Park
Scorecard
Exeter Chiefs maintained their winning streak in the ongoing season of the Gallagher Premiership as they went on to beat Sale Sharks 35-18 at Sandy Park on Saturday.
The win saw Exeter maintain their position at the top of the table with three wins from as many games while Sale Sharks are at the 11th place after losing two out of the three games played.
Aj MacGinty kicked a third minute penalty goal to get Sale Sharks off the mark but the response from Exeter came in the seventh minute when Santiago Cordero grabbed a pass from Joe Simmonds to score the opening try in the game. Simmonds also slotted the conversion to make it 7-3.
The momentum swung towards the visitors once again when MacGinty kicked his second penalty goal in the 16th minute and soon Marland Yarde crossed over for his ninth try in 10 Premiership games and the fly-half once again slotted the extras to make it 7-13.
Close to the half-hour mark, Jonny Hill provided advantage to Exeter Chiefs with a 26th minute try and a conversion from Simmonds meant they had a one-point lead heading into the break.
Scrum-half Jack Maunder further extended the lead of Rob Baxter's side as he strolled past the line in the 50th minute that was converted by Simmonds but both the teams were reduced to 14-men temporarily by the 57th minute when Hill and Jono Ross were sin-binned before Bryn Evans dotted down for Sale Sharks to reduce the gap to three points.
The Chiefs though dominated the final quarter when Alex Cuthbert (63') and Tom Lawday (74') scored further tries to complete the bonus point victory - their third this season.
"It was a real battle, was never really decided despite what the scoreline looks like and I can't say we ever felt really comfortable," Baxter told BBC.
"I thought first half we probably lacked a bit of our sharpness and work ethic that we're really well known for and we questioned that with the lads a little bit at half-time.
"We were better in spells after half-time, looked a little bit more dangerous, and ultimately we came through a tight battle."
