Chiefs give supporters an early Christmas present

They win Christmas cracker

Exeter Chiefs clinched a notable win despite continued pressure from Bath to move up to sixth in the Premiership on Christmas Eve, giving fans an early present on a blustery afternoon at Sandy Park.

The hosts drew first blood with an early penalty, but Bath soon hit back, playing strongly to give the visitors a try courtesy of winger Joe Cokasinga.

The Chiefs responded positively with two tries from Dave Ewers and Henry Slade, and were dominant in attack in this phase. An element of luck with their second try ensured the Chiefs were 20-10 ahead at half time. 

The second half was a different story.

Bath came out looking completely revitalised and rattled Exeter in attacking game play. The hosts were ill-disciplined on numerous occasions, conceding penalty after penalty, which accounted to 17 by the end of the match.

Although the Chiefs gave away many penalties, they stood solid when defending mauls, preventing chances for Bath to score. The visitors were now the controlling force in the match. Bath kept chipping away at the defence and the travellers managed to get a second try from a well-structured maul. 

The Chiefs remained steadfast under sustained pressure, and with seconds left on the clock the home-side thwarted an inevitable late try. As the final whistle blew the Exeter Chiefs fans could breathe a sigh of relief.

In a game which was two very different halves for the Chiefs. They had it all to lose yet they managed to keep a fierce Bath side at bay, in order to take all four points home to reward them for their first half performance.

Line-ups:

Exeter: Hodge, Nowell, Slade, Kata, Woodburn, J. Simmonds, Maunder; Sio, Yeandle (c), Williams, Jenkins, Gray, Ewers, Tshiunza, S. Simmonds.

Replacements: Frost, Iosefa-Scott, Schickerling, Dunne, Grondona, Cairns, Hendrickson, Hogg.

Bath: Gallagher, Cokanasiga, Lawrence, Redpath, McConnochie, Bailey, Schreuder; Boyce, Dunn, Rae, W. Spencer, Lee-Warner, Hill, Underhill, Bayliss.
Replacements: Annett, Morozov, Griffin, Attwood, Ellis, Spencer, Ojomoh, Reid.

13,537- attendance