Bath defeat Exeter 40-34 to go top of Gallagher Premiership table
Bath moved to the top of the Gallagher Premiership table after surviving a second-half Exeter fightback to secure a 40-34 victory at the Recreation Ground.
Bath build early first-half advantage
Bath moved to the top of the Gallagher Premiership table on Friday with a 40-34 victory over West Country rivals Exeter Chiefs at the Recreation Ground. Johan van Graan's side took control in the opening quarter when Scotland centre Cam Redpath intercepted a pass from Harvey Skinner and sprinted 50 metres to score under the posts. Shortly afterwards, scrum-half Bernard van der Linde breached a gap in the Exeter defence for an individual try, with fly-half Finn Russell converting both scores to open a 14-0 lead. Exeter responded when winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso beat an initial tackle from Ollie Lawrence and powered past two cover defenders, setting up scrum-half Stephen Varney for a try. Bath extended their lead when Van der Linde and flanker Ewan Richards gathered a bouncing ball on the halfway line, allowing number eight Dan du Preez to score from close range. Bath then misplayed the subsequent restart, allowing Exeter hooker Jack Yeandle to touch down from a driving lineout.
Russell dummy and interval lead
Pressure from the home side in the closing minutes of the first half produced their fourth try of the match. Russell deceived the Exeter defence with a dummy to dive over the line and converted his own try, giving Bath a 26-10 lead and a four-try bonus point by the interval. The halftime scoreline mirrored the 26-10 margin recorded between the two teams during their previous semi-final meeting at the Rec in June. Bath lined up with Charlie Ewels captaining the forward pack and Joe Cokanasiga and Tom de Glanville on the wings, while Dafydd Jenkins captained an Exeter side that featured former Bath centre Will Butt in the midfield alongside Henry Slade.
- Cam Redpath intercepts Skinner pass for a 50m try; Bernard van der Linde adds a second try for a 14-0 Bath lead
- Stephen Varney and Jack Yeandle score for Exeter; Dan du Preez touches down for Bath
- Finn Russell scores and converts a dummy try to give Bath a 26-10 interval lead
- Josh Iosefa-Scott and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso score converted tries to reduce Bath's lead to 26-24
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scores his second try from a Will Butt break to put Exeter ahead 33-31
- Stephen Varney is yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on; Bath receive a penalty try and Ted Hill scores
- Harvey Skinner kicks a late penalty for Exeter to fix the final score at 40-34
Exeter second-half surge
Exeter mounted a rapid comeback immediately after the interval, scoring two converted tries to cut the deficit to two points. Tighthead prop Josh Iosefa-Scott powered across the line from close range, before Feyi-Waboso brushed aside two defenders to score in the corner. Slade added both conversions to bring the score to 26-24. Exeter took the lead for the first time midway through the second half when Butt broke through the Bath line, creating space for Feyi-Waboso to collect an uncontested run-in for his second try of the match. Slade added the conversion to give the visitors a 33-31 advantage.
Varney yellow card and closing points
The decisive turn in the match came shortly after Exeter moved ahead, when Varney was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on close to the Exeter try line. The match referee awarded Bath a penalty try for the foul, which automatically restored the hosts' lead and sent Exeter down to 14 players. Taking advantage of the extra player, replacement forward Ted Hill crossed for Bath's sixth try of the evening to extend the margin. Russell concluded the match with four successful conversions, while Skinner kicked a late penalty for Exeter to fix the final score at 40-34. The result leaves Bath with two wins from two matches to begin the campaign, while Exeter collected two bonus points despite suffering a second consecutive defeat.
- Bath
- 40 points
- Exeter Chiefs
- 34 points
