Exeter’s late fightback stuns determined Harlequins

Exeter fought back from 13 points down for a second week running to see off Harlequins and hang on to second place in the Premiership table.

A Danny Care-inspired Quins performance, based on some superb defensive work, looked like inflicting a third loss in four home games on the reigning European and Premiership champions.

However, two tries in the final quarter saw Exeter turn the game on its head, with the second from Dave Ewers marking his 150th Premiership and European appearance for the Devon side.

Exeter made a very bright start to the game and Quins were indebted to try-saving tackles from Marcus Smith and Care to deny Joe Simmonds and Tom O’Flaherty after impressive bursts by the Exeter duo.

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It was somewhat against the run of play, therefore, that Quins took the lead, with back-rowers James Chisholm and Alex Dombrandt combining very well in midfield to send scrum-half Care racing away for a try, converted by Smith.

Exeter suffered a blow just past the midway point of the half when experienced centre Ian Whitten limped off with a right leg injury, to be replaced by Ollie Devoto.

However, within a minute of the Irishman’s departure, Exeter were back on level terms with their visitors. A neat move at the front of a line-out saw scrum-half Stuart Townsend force his way over in the corner, and Simmonds converted confidently from close to the touchline.

Quins enjoyed a strong finish to the opening period as the Chiefs’ mistakes mounted up, and they were rewarded with a Smith penalty to put their noses in front at 10-7 at the break.

Quins, who had won five of their previous six games, extended their advantage seven minutes into the second half with a try by hooker Scott Baldwin from a catch-and-drive line-out, with Smith improving the score.

And it looked like they had wrapped the game up when a clever Care grubber kick put Ben Tapuai in for a score under the posts after Quins had destroyed Exeter’s scrum, but television match official Luke Pearce spotted a knock-on at the base, and with referee Craig Maxwell-Keys already playing a penalty advantage, Smith kicked the three points for a 20-7 lead.

Exeter’s error-strewn performance started to improve, and when England prop Harry Williams forced his way over after a quick tap penalty by Townsend, and Simmonds converted, the Chiefs were right back in it at six points adrift.

Then, with five minutes remaining, man of the match Ewers forced his way over to score, and Simmonds’ boot put Exeter in front for the first time in the match, and they held on for victory.

Bath too good for Newcastle

Elsewhere, Bath continued their impressive recent revival with a dominant 38-19 win over Newcastle at Kingston Park.

Stuart Hooper’s side made it four wins from their last five Premiership matches as they ran in six tries on Tyneside against their mid-table rivals.

Sam Underhill, Zach Mercer, Henry Thomas, Jack Walker and Tom Dunn (two) all crossed to propel the visitors level on points with Falcons in the table.

Trevor Davison, Tom Penny and a penalty try helped Dean Richards’ hosts rack up their points but Bath, who went down to Exeter last time out, got back to winning ways in style.

Teimana Harrison leads Saints to victory

At Franklin’s Gardens, Teimana Harrison scored on his return from injury as Northampton recorded a vital 17-14 victory over Sale that put their Premiership play-off hopes back on track.

Harrison, who had been out for over two months with hand and groin troubles, grabbed Saints’ only try of the game, to add to four penalties from the boot of James Grayson.

The hosts repeatedly needed to defend doggedly in the East Midlands, in what was a tight contest, and the end result is them moving to within two points of the fourth-placed Sharks in the table.

Leicester end Kingsholm drought

In the day’s other game, Leicester moved up to sixth place in the table with their first win at Gloucester since September 2016.

The 20-14 success was the Tigers’ first away win in the league this season, with their only other victory on the road coming at Bayonne in the European Challenge Cup.

In a titanic forward battle, the visitors shaded the honours and were rewarded with three close-range tries from Tom Youngs, Dan Kelly and Harry Wells. Zack Henry kicked a penalty and a conversion.

After two morale boosting wins over Worcester and Wasps, Gloucester could not follow it up with a third and had to be content with a bonus point.

Their tries came from Santiago Carreras and Ed Slater, with George Barton adding two conversions.