Saracens v Exeter: Five takeaways as Chiefs’ ‘show of character’ secures ‘glorious win’
Exeter Chiefs players celebrating a late score against Saracens
Following Exeter Chiefs’ 30-24 win over Saracens, here are our five takeaways from Saturday’s pulsating Gallagher PREM clash at StoneX Stadium.
The top line
Exeter went top of the Gallagher Prem in striking fashion when scoring three tries in the last 15 minutes to claw back a nine-point deficit and win at Saracens for the first time since 2017.
Rob Baxter’s side played a quarter of the match a man short due to yellow cards for Tom Hooper and league debutant Campbell Ridl, yet held their nerve to claim maximum points through Henry Slade’s last-gasp intercept try.
Greg Fisilau was the star of the comeback, scoring two tries in five minutes inside the final quarter, then making the thunderous hit on Nick Tompkins, which forced the ball loose and allowed Slade to run it back.
Bath can reclaim top spot with victory at winless Newcastle on Sunday, but Chiefs, who finished ninth of 10 last season, are guaranteed a top-two spot at Christmas.
Some show of character by Chiefs
All available data tells you that you lose a man to the sin bin and no good comes of it. Exeter lost two, one in each half, yet ended in credit.
When Hooper saw yellow on the half hour, Saracens led 12-3 thanks to early tries from back three stars Noah Caluori and Max Malins. You could have named your price for the Chiefs leading at half-time.
Yet rather than pull away, Sarries were forced narrow and contained. Slade kicked a penalty, then Caluori and Ivan van Zyl got their lines crossed and allowed a Chiefs kick to bounce. Ridl collected fortuitously, after the ball ricocheted off his face, drew Elliot Daly and put Steven Varney over.
It added up to a 10-0 sin bin scoreline in favour of the disadvantaged side and, to prove it was no fluke, Exeter bossed the period after Ridl was binned for a deliberate knock on.
That act cost the Chiefs a penalty try, but with the wing on the naughty step, Saracens could only make it count in the final seconds when Caluori went over for his second.
Emboldened by their defiance, the pride of Sandy Park went for the jugular; Fisilau’s double set them on the road to a glorious win.
Farrell won’t want to watch this one back
Owen Farrell had been the scourge of Exeter for as long as they could remember. In 2016, 2018 and 2019, he led his club to Premiership Final wins over the Chiefs at Twickenham.
So what unfolded on this occasion made a nice change for the men from the South West; Farrell’s team coming unstuck and Farrell’s goal-kicking radar going on the blink.
When he failed to convert Malins’ 12th-minute try, it did not seem important. At that point, it was only a question of how much Sarries would win by. When he could not add the extras to Caluori’s second, again, there was little concern. The home side led by nine.
But those misses would become relevant when Fisilau struck twice to put the Chiefs a point up entering the final 10 minutes. Still, Farrell had the opportunity to win the day, a penalty pretty much in front of the sticks five minutes from time.
But England’s record points scorer pulled his kick, Exeter kept their noses in front, and Slade made absolutely sure with their fourth try at the death.
Premiership delivers another belter
After the blowouts and understrength teams’ selections, which tarnished the first two rounds of the Champions Cup, this was a return to serious competition.
These two clubs have a rich rivalry and don’t hugely like each other as a result of salary cap breaches by Saracens, which, more than one Chiefs fan will tell you, cost their club two Premiership crowns.
That history ensured this would always be a competitive fixture and, with both sides holding nothing back in selection, the league was rewarded with a pulsating encounter.
Saracens led 12-3 and 24-13. Save for Glasgow’s epic come-from-behind win over Toulouse last weekend, teams did not turn around those sorts of scorelines in the Champions Cup. Chiefs did here.
They weathered the early storm, despite conceding seven of the game’s first 11 penalties. They didn’t let Caluori’s first try, an interception of Slade’s pass, get them down, nor Manny Feyi-Waboso’s failure to deny Malins his score on the short side.
And when opportunity then knocked for them, they exploited it ruthlessly. Particularly Fisilau. Driven over for his first, he did most of the hard work for his second, after Len Ikitau had forced the opening with a trademark bust.
Luke Pearce wonderful communicator
Three months ago, a post on the social media platform Reddit posed a question many rugby fans had been asking. What happened to Luke Pearce?
The query referred specifically to the Test arena, given that, in recent times, one of rugby’s most impressive communicators has missed out on a number of appointments.
This week, World Rugby’s announcement that the 38-year-old would take charge of Ireland-Scotland in the upcoming Six Nations, as well as running the line for France-Italy, was widely welcomed.
And at StoneX, he reminded observers of his excellence as a communicator, a skill which benefited both players, supporters and TV audience alike.
Throughout an absorbing encounter, Pearce provided clear instruction and explanation. He did not get every call right but it was an honest performance, entertaining and informative – and measured to bring the best out of the game.
“Steven, if I think you’re milking a penalty, I’ll penalise you,” he warned Varney at one point. “Harvey, not everything’s my fault,” he told Skinner later.
He gave Tom Hooper a public ticking off for a dangerous clear-out but backed down from his initial verdict that it was deserving of a 20-minute red in the face of TMO evidence. It was a highly creditable performance.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.