Chiefs lose at home to Bath

Match Report: Exeter Chiefs 14-26 Bath

Back-to-back defeats for Exeter Chiefs after a poor home display against Bath.

Exeter Chiefs were hoping to get back to winning ways after a heavy defeat away to Toulouse last weekend which saw the end of their European Champions Cup run this season. 

Going into round 15 of the Premiership, Exeter sat 6th in the, with only bonus points separating them from a top 4 spot.

Bath started the match positively; in the opening 15 minutes, they created more chances than the Chiefs. Exeter was forced to defend early on and prevented an early Bath try. They did well to thwart Bath twice when they were in striking distance of their line.
The play was stopped for around five minutes following a collision between Exeter’s Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Bath’s Will Muir. TMO decided it was a Bath scrum on the halfway line. 

After a lethargic period of play for both sides, Bath touched down first to open the scoring. The Bath maul overpowered Exeter’s defence and the travelling side placed the ball down in the corner. 

Exeter was disallowed a try minutes after Bath took the lead. The hosts built up some lovely phases, and the young scrum-half Tom Cairns went over; TMO decided there was an obstruction in the build-up. 

On the brink of halftime, an Exeter ball was intercepted by Bath and it was played out to Ben Spencer who, at full pace, sprinted down the near side to increase the away side’s advantage. Bath lead 14, nil at the break. 

The second half started quickly, with two tries in seven minutes. Exeter scored a well-worked try courtesy of winger Olly Woodburn, who went over in the far corner.  

But to the disappointment of the Chiefs fans, Bath hit back immediately. There was a scramble at the back; Exeter couldn’t deal the ball. The away side capitalized on the mistake. 

Exeter started to lose momentum; Bath took advantage by extending their lead even further. 

It got slightly better for Exeter, who closed the gap with 10 minutes left. Scrum-Half Stuart Towsend sniped from close range and cut the deficit slightly. The Exeter fans were tumultuous, trying to encourage the Chiefs to get back into the match.

However, it was too little, too late for Exeter. The match ended at Exeter 14, Bath 26. The Chiefs are back in action away at Gloucester on Sunday 28 April. 

Attendance: 14,933