The road to the Prem playoffs continues to be full of compelling twists and turns. For a while it seemed Exeter might about to be reeled in by opponents renowned for their finishing strength only for second-half tries from Paul Brown-Bampoe, Len Ikitau and Campbell Ridl and a resilient defensive effort to steer the Chiefs to one of their more pleasing league wins of the season.
With Leicester and Saracens finishing strongly and only three regular season fixtures remaining this was a game the home side could ill afford to lose and that extra edge played a part against a Bath side still feeling the psychological effects of their disappointing Champions Cup semi-final loss in Bordeaux. As the game wore on it was Exeter who grew in confidence and this result puts them in fourth place, five points clear of Bristol in fifth.
With a stiff north-easterly blowing down the ground Exeter had an eight point first-half cushion to work with but will be most satisfied with the way they subsequently dug deep in a game once again notable for a number of head collision reviews. Bath’s second-row forward Quinn Roux was shown a 20-minute red early in the game and the visitors never quite regained their equilibrium.
With potential new US backers poised to take over the club in a multimillion-pound deal, this was not the worst moment for Exeter to make a few on-field headlines. It is the first time in seven league meetings they have defeated Bath and their director of rugby, Rob Baxter, acknowledged the result was a timely boost. “In the contest of the season after the last three to four weeks it’s huge,” said Baxter. “A poor result for us today and it would have felt like the season is petering out a little bit. That’s dead now. The season’s not petering out at all, is it?”
Before the game Baxter had instructed his team to go out and play rather than tighten up and allow self-doubt to creep in. They duly followed his advice, building a handy 13-0 lead inside the opening quarter through two Henry Slade penalties and a close-range rumble from Josh Iosefa-Scott, converted by Harvey Skinner. The early departure of Roux was another significant moment, the referee Karl Dickson firmly of the opinion the South African had a clear line of sight when he charged through and clashed heads with Slade. After all the fuss about the unpenalised head contacts in Bordeaux, an early 20-minute red card against Bath was more than a touch ironic.
Bath did eventually get on the board through a strong maul score finished by the former Exeter hooker Dan Frost but Finn Russell’s conversion attempt hit a post and Bath spent the majority of the rest of the half penned in their own territory. The only upside was that Exeter were not quite clicking in attack and the visitors would have settled for the 13-5 interval scoreline with the wind now at their backs.
The game’s momentum shifted early in the second half. First Tom de Glanville was shown a yellow card for a one-handed knockdown with two Exeter players licking their lips out wide and then the home side exploited their numerical advantage to work Brown-Bampoe over on the left. Suddenly the margin was 13 points and the challenge that little bit steeper.
Bath were also guilty of missing a crucial kick to touch and blowing a lineout opportunity in the Exeter 22 but the arrival of Bath’s bomb squad en masse is usually the point at which they raise their game. So when Ridl also departed to the sin-bin and the visiting scrum began to prosper, the signs were ominous for the home supporters when Sam Underhill spun off the side of another advancing maul to score in the right corner and Russell slid over a beautiful conversion.
Slade, against the wind, could not do likewise with a penalty attempt towards the end of the third quarter but a 14-man Exeter refused to lie down. A line break from Dafydd Jenkins took them to within inches of the Bath line and, from a resultant tap penalty, smart hands sent the lurking Ikitau over.
By the time Ridl subsequently cruised over for the bonus point and Slade took his tally to 13 points no-one was talking about the wind any more. Bath are still in second place but a home semi-final draw is not yet assured.
“There were some big results on Saturday and obviously a big result today,” said their head of rugby, Johann van Graan. “It [the playoff race] is going to go down to the wire on the first weekend in June.”