Exeter Chiefs revitalised their Gallagher Premiership play-off aspirations with a commanding 35-12 bonus-point victory over reigning champions Bath at Sandy Park. The win propelled Exeter into contention for a top-four finish, while Bath squandered an opportunity to ascend to the summit of the table.
First Half Battle
Playing with the advantage of a stiff breeze, Exeter took an early lead through a Henry Slade penalty in the third minute. Slade added another penalty shortly after, capitalising on Bath's repeated infringements. The visitors' discipline woes worsened when lock Quinn Roux was shown a red card for a high tackle on Slade, leaving Bath a man down for 20 minutes. Slade departed for a head injury assessment (HIA) but returned later.
From the resulting line-out, Australian centre Len Ikitau burst through the defence, setting the stage for Josh Iosefa-Scott to crash over for the opening try. Harvey Skinner's conversion gave Exeter a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bath responded five minutes later with an unstoppable line-out drive, finished by Dan Frost, reducing the deficit to 13-5 at half-time.
Second Half Domination
Exeter extended their lead four minutes after the restart when Tom de Glanville was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on. Slick passing allowed Paul Brown-Bampoe to outflank the cover and score. Bath introduced Cam Redpath for his 100th club appearance, and they capitalised when Sam Underhill broke from a driving maul to score. However, a missed penalty from Slade kept the score tight.
Exeter regained control as Ikitau darted over from close range for his first top-flight try, followed by Campbell Ridl racing away for the bonus-point score. Slade converted both tries and added a late penalty to seal a miserable afternoon for Bath.
Other Premiership Action
Elsewhere, Harlequins ran in 12 tries to thrash Newcastle 76-17 at Kingston Park. Jamie Benson scored a hat-trick for Quins, with Alex Dombrandt, Bryn Bradley, Cadan Murley, Sam Riley, Marcus Smith, Will Hobson, Luke Northmore, and Jimmy Staples also crossing. Newcastle's tries came from Adam Brocklebank and Josh Hodge.
