Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers

Exeter Chiefs’ PREM Rugby Cup campaign ended at Mattioli Woods Welford Road as they were defeated 66-14 by a triumphant Leicester Tigers team.

Leicester’s 10 tries to Chiefs’ two made it a barnstorming day for the hosts as they won their first silverware at home in more than 100 years

Tigers were the first out of the gate, centre Will Wand scoring the game’s opening try after just six minutes played. Working off a lineout on the Chiefs’ five-metre line, Wand took an offload from the maul and spun his body into position in contact to secure the five points. Billy Searle opened his account at the tee as he added the two-point conversion.

One of the match’s standout performers, Leicester loosehead Archie van der Flier scored their second. A man overlap on the edge of the Chiefs’ 22 put Tigers on the front foot and van der Flier took the pass 10 metres out which sealed the try.

Less than a minute after converting, fly-half Searle scored a try of his own. Intercepting a pass on his own 10 metre line, he ran the ball in beneath the sticks before converting his own score.

A brace score from Wand wrapped up the fourth try. Running the ball from deep in their own territory, Chiefs back-rower Finn Worley Brady put in a lung-busting run to be re-set in defence in his own 22. However, the he couldn’t get across the field quick enough to stop Wand from receiving a chip from Searle.

A fifth for Tigers quickly followed with Searle collecting his own chip this time and converting before Chiefs got on the board at the death of the half. On his return from injury, Ross Vintcent grabbed an opportunity to pick-and-go, crashing over for an important five points.

Josh Hodge’s conversion quickly brought a gruelling first-half for Chiefs to an end.

Unfortunately for the Exeter men, their fate did not improve in the second half. Following the restart, scrum-half Tom Cairns was put in the tricky situation of trying to clear ball from his own dead-ball area. Tigers’ van der Flier seized upon an opportunity, touching the ball at the back of the ruck and after a TMO check the ball was deemed playable and the prop on-side, so the try stood.

Chiefs’ defensive efforts were made all the more arduous when Martin Moloney was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements as Tigers were simultaneously awarded a penalty try before 50 minutes.

Will Haydon-Wood clawed a second try back for Chiefs almost on the hour. The Exeter men worked the ball through the phases on the Tigers’ five-metre line before the fly-half found a soft shoulder to run around into space. Hodge’s conversion would prove to be his side’s last points of the game for the visitors.

In the final quarter, Tigers added three more tries to their tally. Newly capped Welsh international Gabriel Hamer-Webb was the recipient of an unfortunate clearance kick from Haydon-Wood, allowing the Welshman to score in the corner.

Breakaway tries from replacements Tarek Haffar and James O’Connor only added to an already definite win for the home side. Tigers were reduced to 14 men by a yellow card for Wand but it did not seem to hamper them.

It was a heart-breaking end to a campaign full of such promise and flourishing young Chiefs players, such as Campbell Ridl and Worley Brady.

Chiefs will look to re-group and re-focus as they now turn their attention to the return of the Gallagher PREM as Sale Sharks visit Sandy Park next Saturday afternoon.