Chiefs' route to the final

The reigning champions secured their place in a sixth consecutive Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final but they did not have it all their own way, writes Josh Graham

Exeter Chiefs are in their sixth consecutive Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final and looking to be crowned kings of England for the third time in five seasons.

Rob Baxter’s men sealed their spot in the Twickenham showpiece against Harlequins with a 40-30 semi-final win over Sale Sharks at Sandy Park.

But the Devonians have not had it all their own way on their way to the Final.

Coincidentally the season began across the road from the home of English rugby against their final opponents at The Stoop.

The reigning champions cruised past Quins 33-3 thanks to a scintillating hat-trick from Gallagher Premiership Rugby Player of the Season Sam Simmonds.

The future British & Irish Lion helped get Chiefs back up and running for 2020-21 with a flourish.

The Chiefs juggernaut rolled on into a South West derby at home against Bath Rugby but again Baxter’s men were far too strong for their opponents.

Simmonds was at it once more as two tries took his tally to five in two games.

Equally as impressive was the fact Chiefs again prevented their opponents from crossing the whitewash, beating Stuart Hooper’s side 40-3.

After the break for European action, the Chiefs hosted Gloucester Rugby in a far tighter encounter that finished 28-20 to the home side on Boxing Day in front of 2,000 fans.

Chiefs had to be patient and eventually wore down George Skivington’s men in the second half with Simmonds bagging another double to continue his phenomenal try-scoring form.

However, back-to-back defeats away against Wasps and at home to pace-setters Bristol Bears set the alarm bells ringing for director of rugby Baxter and head coach Ali Hepher.

Only a narrow 21-17 win at Sixways against Worcester Warriors got things back on track at the end of a difficult start to 2021.

Another gritty display against Newcastle Falcons saw Exeter take four points home from their long trip up to Kingston Park.

Simmonds and Welsh winger Alex Cuthbert scored the tries in a 15-9 win in February.

The same pair crossed again against London Irish, with Simmonds scoring twice, to notch a 26-3 win which kept the Chiefs firmly on track for the semi-finals.

Controversy surrounded a rare home defeat against Northampton Saints in Round 10 when skipper Joe Simmonds was charged down while attempting a match-winning touchline conversion having started his run-up.

Baxter classily agreed with the decision that he moved prematurely as his side went down 13-12 in a muddy battle at Sandy Park.

Chiefs once again found themselves in a bit of a sticky patch after losing 25-20 away at Sale Sharks the following week with club captain Jack Yeandle sent off in the first half.

But the show was back on the road with a six-try win over Bath at The Rec earning last year’s double champions a 38-16 victory.

Tom O’Flaherty scored two and there was also a brace for Scotland second row Sam Skinner.

The last time Exeter came up against Harlequins was in Round 13 at Sandy Park and it could barely have been closer.

Despite being far from their fluent best, Chiefs took the spoils with a 21-20 win over Quins courtesy of a late Dave Ewers try.

Buoyed by that result, Exeter had seven different try scorers in a topsy turvy 47-31 win at home over 14-man Leicester Tigers.

Baxter rang the changes against Gloucester with the Heineken Champions Cup in mind, and a youthful side went down 34-18 before the senior stars returned to hammer Wasps 43-13 at Sandy Park.

Arguably a season-defining performance came at Ashton Gate - the scene of Chiefs’ European glory last year - with a 20-12 win over table toppers Bristol Bears.

South African back row Jacques Vermeulen stole the show on that afternoon with an outstanding man of the match display.

Exeter brushed aside Worcester 41-10 before fans returned in time at London Irish in May to see Sam Simmonds make history with a hat-trick that broke Christian Wade and Dominic Chapman’s Premiership Rugby try-scoring record for a single season.

Chiefs then thrashed Newcastle Falcons 74-3 at home before pulling off two great escapes.

They looked dead and buried against Northampton Saints and with 14-men against Sale Sharks, before coming back to win their last two games of the regular season 29-26 and 20-19.

Sale failed to overturn Exeter in Devon for the second week running as Chiefs secured their Final spot thanks to two tries from full-back Jack Nowell, who was back to his devastating best when it mattered most.