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1 day ago
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The Premiership is about to go into hibernation for two months and Exeter badly needed a mood-enhancing win before the Six Nations pushes the club game into the background. They duly claimed a relieving victory against weakened opponents but only after a last-quarter surge from 15-10 down in a previously nervy, scrappy contest.
The final scoreboard will show a healthy bonus-point success clinched by two tries inside three minutes from Tommy Wyatt and Ethan Roots but, until that rat-a-tat late burst the outcome was in real doubt courtesy of two tries by the visitors’ speedy right wing Tobias Elliott.
A 71st-minute red card shown to the Saracens lock Harry Wilson for a shoulder to the head of Rus Tuima, however, effectively sealed Sarries’ fate with Dan Frost registering a fifth Chiefs try.
This was very much an opportunity Exeter knew they could ill-afford to spurn. Sarries had also travelled down without 16 first-team players either injured or away on international duty and the selection of the Welsh centre Nick Tompkins as a replacement back-row forward underlined the lack of available alternatives.
It definitely did not help them, then, when their Argentina Juan Martín González flanker was sent to the sin-bin after seven minutes when Jacques Vermeulen was tipped out of a ruck upside down and landed on his head. Luckily for Gonzalez there were several other bodies in the vicinity and the referee, Ian Tempest, settled for just a yellow card.
Exeter swiftly nailed a driven maul try, finished by Jack Innard, but both teams were guilty of unforced errors and lacked any consistent cohesion. Saracens needed something to get them going and finally found it after 27 minutes when the rapid Elliott somersaulted over in the right corner to give his side an 8-5 half-time lead.
On their last visit to Devon, at the start of last season, the visitors lost 65-10 but Exeter’s stock has fallen sharply since then. Having secured one league win all season before this fixture, their only England squad absentee is Henry Slade while Sarries were lacking far more of their first-choice infantry.
It did offer a opportunity for the youthful former Newcastle fly-half Louie Johnson to make his Premiership debut for Sarries along with Max Eke in the back-row, but with Exeter enjoying slightly more possession and territory it was Roots and Wyatt who caught the eye more often.
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An on-field marriage proposal at half-time did briefly raise a local cheer but the loss of Innard with an ankle injury and further inaccuracy did little to settle Exeter’s nerves. It was a massive relief for the hosts, therefore, when a period of intense pressure in the Sarries 22 finally yielded a try for Will Rigg, who started this season in Coventry’s midfield.
Saracens, though, were not quite finished. Ben Hammersley made a hash of collecting a high kick in his 22 and the alert Elliott pounced for his second try.
It proved only a temporary inconvenience with Paul Brown-Bampoe tip-toeing down the touchline to tee up Wyatt before Roots crashed over to secure the try bonus point. Eroni Mawi’s late try was scant consolation for Saracens.
