Exeter Chiefs v Bath Rugby

Exeter Chiefs roared to a bonus-point victory against Bath Rugby at Sandy Park on Sunday afternoon as they kept their top four hopes well and truly alive.

Campbell Ridl’s try in the 75th minute was the one to clinch the all-important fifth point while prop Josh Iosefa-Scott also got a try in a Player of the Match performance.

Three minutes in, Henry Slade opened the scoring for Chiefs, taking a sensible shot at goal after a penalty against Bath was awarded in the centre of the opposition 22.

A further 10 minutes of play, and on the 13th minute, the Chiefs number 13 slotted a second penalty to take the Chiefs to a six to nil lead as they looked to continue fighting to keep Bath out of the home half.

There was concern for Bath lock Quinn Roux when he took a knock to the head and stayed down on the restart. However, a TMO review showed he had tackled Henry Slade high, so Roux was shown a 20-minute red card as both he and Slade were removed from the field for HIAs.

Before the end of the first quarter, Iosefa-Scott battered his way over for the first try of the afternoon. Working with quick recycles deep into Bath territory, Chiefs fed ball to the barnstorming front-rower who made light work of the final carry. With Slade still completing his HIA, Harvey Skinner converted the score.

Former Chiefs man Dan Frost scored a try response for the visitors, shepherding the ball over from the rear of the maul. The wind caught Finn Russell’s conversion attempt as the ball rebounded off the right upright.

The Exeter men were pushed back to defending on their own try-line with seconds left in the first half. The dogged home defence was able to overturn possession as Iosefa-Scott stormed out of his own 22 with ball in hand, releasing Stephen Varney to head up-field and clear the danger.

A potential comeback for Bath was made all the more difficult when, five minutes into the half, full-back Tom de Glanville was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on as Chiefs were on the ascendency on the Bath 10-metre line.

Chiefs made immediate use of the man advantage. Working the ball through the hands with pace, Chiefs moved possession to Paul Brown-Bampoe on the wing after an impressive offload in contact from Skinner. Scampering down the five-metre channel, Brown-Bampoe curled his way over the line for five points.

Ridl was shown a yellow card on 53 minutes for a high shot on Russell and it took less than a minute for Bath to strike, scoring a try as Sam Underhill peeled off the maul to crash over in the corner. Russell’s conversion narrowed the gap between the sides.

It wasn’t for long, however, as Len Ikitau’s first Gallagher PREM try delighted the home crowd. Working from a tap-and-go five metres out from the Bath try line, a quick recycle of ball to Ikitau gave the Wallabies centre the space to fly over to the right of the posts. His centre partner Slade then added the extras.

Then it was the turn of Ridl with the bonus-point securing score. Slicing his way through the defence, the crowd rose to its feet as the 21-year-old scored another home-game wonder. Slade added the conversion before three minutes later adding a penalty which put the bow on top of an already impressive day for Chiefs.

The home crowd was never louder than when they counted out the clock on 80 minutes, Chiefs kicking it out to bring the fast-paced West Country derby to an end.