An electric Sandy Park had plenty to cheer about as Exeter Chiefs swept past Saracens on their way to the Gallagher Premiership play-offs
A try at the death of a doggedly close first half seemed to be enough to kick the Exeter men into high gear as they emerged for the second half. Three tries were added on and at the final whistle, Rob Baxter’s side sealed a bonus-point victory to leapfrog Leicester Tigers into third place in the table.
Saracens had been the first team out the blocks, Tobias Elliott quietening the home crowd when he scored a try in the corner at the end of some strong phases from the Londoners.
Henry Slade got Chiefs on the board 10 minutes later when a penalty for offside against Saracens gave the centre an opportunity to kick for goal.
Rotimi Segun thought he’d topped his side up with another five-pointer, however, a TMO review showed the winger had dropped the ball an inch before the line and the try was chalked back off by referee Karl Dickson.
There was more bad news for Saracens with the clock in the red of the first half as scrum-half Charlie Bracken was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on.
After some teething issues earlier on, the Chiefs lineout worked seamlessly. Max Norey’s throw was caught in the air by Christ Tshiunza who immediately fed the ball down to Ethan Roots. The back-rower put in a perfectly timed pop pass to his hooker who scampered over for the try.
Slade’s conversion was an unfortunate miss, but the Chiefs ran in with momentum on their side in a narrow 8-5 lead.
Eventual player of the match Slade finished a fantastic team try within eight minutes of the restart. Campbell Ridl broke down the five-metre channel, offloading mid-tackle to Olly Woodburn. The wily and experienced full-back lobbed a basketball pass inside to Slade who launched over for the score which he then converted himself.
As Kane James made his return to the field for the first time in five months, Slade slotted over another three points from the middle of the Saracens 22.
With 65 minutes on the clock, Andrea Zambonin for the second consecutive week made himself a Chiefs try-scorer. After a triumphant scrum penalty from the pack, Chiefs went for the trusted old tap-and-go manoeuvre with ball eventually finding Zambonin who struck from close range. Slade’s conversion made the score 25-5.
The replacements made an impact for Saracens when Nick Isiekwe scored a try in the corner which Owen Farrell converted with less than 10 minutes left to go.
However, Chiefs already had the bit well between their teeth and they weren’t about to allow for a comeback. With two minutes left, Stephen Varney put boot to ball on a dropped Saracens pass, haring downfield after it to dive upon the ball for the bonus-point score.
Slade’s conversion put the icing on the cake of a great individual performance.
Chiefs are up to third place with 65 points with Northampton Saints top with 74, Bath Rugby second with 69 points. Below Exeter and in the final play off position is Leicester Tigers on 63 points.
With this result, Chiefs secure their place in the league play-offs with a trip to Bath Rugby next Saturday afternoon to decide whether they will advance on to Allianz Stadium, Twickenham or not.
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