Exeter Chiefs’ stunning fightback floors Munster at Sandy Park

Exeter Chiefs continued with their fine Champions Cup form when they clinched a 32-24 triumph over Munster in an entertaining encounter at Sandy Park on Sunday.

Rob Baxter’s troops started their campaign with a last-gasp victory over Toulon last week and it was a similar story in this match as they were trailing on the scoreboard for long periods.

However, the Chiefs came to the fore with a strong second half performance and both sides eventually scored four tries apiece.

Dan Frost, Ross Vintcent, Jack Dunne and Henry Slade crossed the whitewash for the home side while Slade also succeeded with three conversions and a couple of penalties.

For Munster, Calvin Nash, Thomas Ahern, Antoine Frisch and Shane Daly scored tries and their other points came via the boot of Jack Crowley, who added two conversions.

Click here for scorers

Munster were fastest out of the blocks and opened the scoring as early as the seventh minute when Nash gathered a long pass from Craig Casey before crossing the whitewash.

This, after Crowley and John Hodnett did well in the build-up with impressive carries.

Despite that setback, the home side did not panic and they were soon level when Frost burrowed his way over the try-line from close quarters in the 16th minute.

However, Munster still held the upper hand and in the 23rd minute Crowley showed his class when he delivered an inch-perfect cross-field kick which Ahern collected before crossing for the visitors’ second try.

Crowley failed with the conversion attempt before Slade reduced the deficit via a penalty in the 27th minute, but Munster finished the half stronger as Frisch crossed for a converted try in the closing stages of the half which gave the visitors a 19-10 lead at the interval.

🔵 Exeter Chiefs retain their unbeaten status in the #InvestecChampionsCup! #EXEvMUN pic.twitter.com/MSi6earF5V

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) December 17, 2023

Shortly after the restart Slade slotted his second penalty but Munster soon regained the initiative when Daly dotted down from close quarters after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

The Chiefs needed a response if they wanted to be victorious and that came midway through the half when Vintcent grounded the ball under a mass of bodies close to Munster’s posts.

And in the 65th minute, Exeter took the lead for the first time when Dunne pounced on an error from Nash deep inside Munster’s 22 before diving over in spectacular fashion for his side’s third try.

Slade added the extras and the hosts held the lead for the first time which meant Munster upped the ante on attack in the final quarter in a bid to clinch the win.

However, things went awry in the 78th minute when Slade intercepted a pass from Conor Murray before racing away to score his try, which sealed Exeter’s victory and also secured them a bonus point in the process.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Tommy Wyatt, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ben Hammersley, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Lewis Pearson, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 4 Rusi Tuima, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Rory O’Loughlin

Munster: 15 Shane Daly, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Seán O’Brien, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Tom Ahern, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Gavin Coombes, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Brian Gleeson, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Ben O’Connor

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Adrien Marbot (France), Evan Urruzmendi (France)
TMO: Cedric Marchat (France)

READ MORE: Alex Sanderson says Sale can build on the positives from Champions Cup defeat to Leinster