Exeter Chiefs overcame a stern challenge from Bath to continue their winning start to the Premiership season following an excellent 39-24 triumph at the Rec.
Todd Blackadder’s men started impressively and deservedly went 10-0 in front through Freddie Burns’ penalty and Rhys Priestland’s try, but Exeter hit back to lead at the interval. Gareth Steenson’s three-pointer got the Chiefs on the board before scores from Stuart Townsend and Don Armand gave them a 15-13 buffer going into the final 40 minutes.
In a topsy-turvy encounter, two more Burns penalties to Steenson’s one took the hosts back ahead, but Rob Baxter’s men showed their quality in the latter stages.
Dave Ewers duly touched down to set the 2017/18 beaten finalists on their way before Ian Whitten and Jack Nowell also went over to seal a bonus-point win, despite Chris Cook’s late consolation.
It was a disappointing result for a gallant Bath who, having rested several players against defending champions Saracens last weekend, targeted this game and it initially paid dividends.
Although the hosts were tested early on by the Devonians, Blackadder’s men were physical and showed that they were up to the challenge. Zach Mercer secured a turnover at the breakdown and the team were soon rewarded for their defensive endeavour as Burns kicked them in front from a long-range penalty.
Bath were also displaying variety in attack with forwards looking to off-load and excellent hands from flanker Tom Ellis sent Semesa Rokoduguni clear. The Fijian-born England wing then chipped ahead and Priestland was on hand to collect and cross the whitewash unopposed.
At 10-0 up, the home side were in control but a couple of mistakes allowed the Chiefs to level matters. Firstly, a scrum infringement saw Steenson reduce the arrears from the tee before Burns’ pass was intercepted and finished by Townsend.
Although Bath’s full-back for the evening regained their advantage with a second three-pointer, they were too loose in possession and Exeter pounced, turning the ball over at the contact area and launching an attack. After a few phases, play was shifted right and Steenson’s grubber found Armand, who stepped inside the final defender and touched down in the corner for a 15-13 lead at the break.
Unperturbed, the hosts responded at the start of the second period via Burns’ penalty, but the visitors were immediately back in front through the boot of Steenson.
Matters worsened for Blackadder’s charges when Rokoduguni was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on, but they managed the 10 minutes well and restored their advantage after another successful effort off the tee.
Only after the wing returned did Exeter up the intensity and win the game in the final quarter. The Chiefs were not at their best but they went back to basics, sending a maul surging towards the line, and Ewers was on hand to score.
They were not done there, however, and effectively completed a fine win as Nowell got on the outside of the defence and off-loaded to Whitten, who did the rest.
Nowell then inked his name on the scoreboard to rubberstamp the victory, despite Bath going over late on via replacement scrum-half Cook.
The scorers:
For Bath:
Tries: Priestland, Cook
Con: Burns
Pens: Burns 4
Yellow Card: Rokoduguni
For Exeter:
Tries: Townsend, Armand, Ewers, Whitten, Nowell
Cons: Steenson 4
Pens: Steenson 2
Yellow Card: Whitten
Bath: 15 Freddie Burns, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Cooper Vuna, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Rhys Priestland (c), 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tom Ellis, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Max Wright, 23 Darren Atkins
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ian Whitten
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Simon Harding, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Geoff Warren