Exeter down Bath to increase Premiership lead

Joe Simmonds kicked a late penalty as Exeter Chiefs increased their lead at the top of the Premiership following a 20-18 triumph over Bath.

Rob Baxter’s men were dominant in the opening 20 minutes, going 10-0 ahead via Simmonds’ three-pointer and Jonny Hill’s try, but the hosts hit back through two Freddie Burns efforts off the tee.

Sam Simmonds touched down at the start of the second half to extend Exeter’s buffer but Matt Banahan gave the home side hope going into the final quarter.

As the game reached its latter stages, Bath began to increase the intensity and were rewarded when Paul Grant crossed the whitewash, but Simmonds’ late penalty snatched the win for the Chiefs.

They now have an 11-point advantage over Wasps, who play on Sunday, while their West Country rivals reside in sixth after seeing their play-off hopes suffer a huge blow.

Bath have struggled for form over recent Premiership rounds and the league leaders controlled matters in the first quarter.

The visitors are renowned for their ability to retain the ball and, despite the difficult conditions, they went through the phases and took an early lead. Following a deliberate knock-on, Simmonds kicked a penalty and moved his side into a 3-0 advantage.

Both teams had to contend with weather that was not necessarily conducive for attacking rugby but it was Baxter’s outfit that initially dealt with it better, with Taulupe Faletau failing to cope with a couple of high balls.

Exeter duly benefited from the territory that brought and, after a succession of phases close to the opposition line, Hill sneaked over to open up a 10-point buffer.

To the hosts’ credit, they responded and forced the Chiefs to infringe, which allowed Burns to kick a brace of penalties late in the first half.

Todd Blackadder’s charges failed to take that momentum into the second 40 minutes, however, as the visiting forwards pummelled the opposition defensive line. Eventually, Bath’s rearguard yielded when Simmonds powered across the whitewash from close range.

With the leaders on top, their West Country rivals could have folded but, thanks to Burns and Banahan, the hosts got back into the contest. In their first significant attack of the half, the pivot produced a superbly weighted cross-field kick for the wing to latch on to and reduce the deficit.

Boosted by that score, Bath began to play with a bit more confidence and Faletau made up for his earlier errors by breaking through the middle and sending Grant over.

Blackadder’s men were in control but poor handling allowed the Chiefs to put pressure on the home team and, when they conceded a penalty, Simmonds made no mistake from the tee to snatch the win for Exeter.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Banahan, Grant
Con: Priestland
Pens: Burns 2

For Exeter:
Tries: J. Hill, S. Simmonds
Cons: J. Simmonds 2
Pens: J. Simmonds 2

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 James Wilson, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tom Ellis, 6 Matt Garvey (c), 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 James Phillips, 20 Paul Grant, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Cooper Vuna

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Lachie Turner, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Dave Dennis, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Santiago Cordero

Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Tom Foley, Paul Dix
TMO: Rowan Kitt