Exeter Chiefs v Bristol Bears

Exeter Chiefs secured a five-point win at Ashton Gate in round seven of the PREM Rugby Cup after scoring eight tries to Bristol Bears’ five.

Bristol fought back from a 7-22 deficit at half-time to be back in contention but Rob Baxter’s men had the bit between their teeth and continued to add to their lead, allowing the full-time score to read 35-46.

Young winger Campbell Ridl was the first to score on a rain-drenched turf. Taking a pass from Zack Wimbush on the edge, Ridl stepped inside the defender to carry over for the score.

The pack laid the foundations for Chiefs’ second. Working with advantage from a dominant engagement on the Bristol five-metre line, Tom Cairns fed the ball to Will Haydon-Wood, allowing the fly-half to chip the ball out to the wing for Dan John to run onto and score.

Having just missed at his first attempt, Josh Hodge curled the conversion attempt round nicely for the extra two points.

Speed of ball in repeated phases in the Bristol 22 produced a third try for Chiefs within half an hour played. Working nicely off the edge of a ruck, Max Norey carried over the five points next to the corner flag. Hodge’s conversion attempt took a rebound off the upright.

A move which was astonishingly started by a solo chip and chase downfield from Norey, culminated in Ridl slipping two defenders on the far edge, breaking into clean air to run in the bonus-point try next to the posts.

With that in mind, there was a lapse in concentration from Chiefs at the death of the half. The hosts pounced upon the opportunity and Joe Owen ran the ball in from the edge of the Chiefs 22. With a successful conversion from Sam Worsley, the half concluded.

Chiefs looked to have regained their composure at the start of the second half as Norey scored a second try three minutes after the restart. Showing patience at the driving maul, Norey held the ball steady at the back, diving to the ground as soon as he saw the whitewash at his feet.

A two-on-one against Ridl in front of the posts saw Bristol score their second. As Ridl tackled the carrier, an offload had already been put inside to Max Pepper to complete the score. His half-back partner Worsley converted the score.

Bristol full-back Rich Lane struck from close range for his side’s third try as they looked to reign in Chiefs on the scoreboard. The conversion from Worsley made it a six-point game.

Ridl made sure the gap wasn’t that small for long. The winger ran on to a ball on the edge of the 22, found a soft shoulder in defence to breeze past and ran in his hat-trick score. With Hodge already substituted, Haydon-Wood took on kicking duties to secure the conversion.

A perfectly timed tip pass in the five-metre channel from John released Paul Brown-Bampoe to score Chiefs’ seventh of the afternoon as they creeped up upon the 40-point marker.

A driving maul for the line secured a fourth try and a bonus point for Bristol with 10 minutes left to play. Replacement hooker Tomas Gwilliam scored the try before Worsley added the conversion.

Match captain Lewis Pearson, who had led from the front for the entirety of the game, got Chiefs’ final try of the day, driving his legs through contact to ground the ball after repeated phases on the Bristol line. Haydon-Wood converted the score for the extra two points.

There was time for a consolation score for the hosts as Worsley converted his own try with the clock in the red, but Chiefs had secured the five-point win.

The result ensures the pool and fight for knockout rounds is very much still alive for Chiefs.