Bath edge Chiefs in thriller
PREMIERSHIP REPORT: Bath edged out Exeter Chiefs with a 13-10 victory on a soggy night at the Recreation Ground.
The win was the perfect way to bounce back from their opening defeat to the Bristol Bears.
Exeter's opener was a matter of persistence and after almost 10 minutes of pressure, Bath's defence eventually relented and allowed Jonny Hill to power over from close range.
Joe Simmonds added the extras to put the visitors four points to the good, following Rhys Priestland's early penalty.
However, a further three-pointer from the Exeter flyhalf saw that lead increased to seven.
However, the Chiefs saw their lead disappear completely just before the break as Tom Dunn drove over the line after a well-timed tap and go from Zach Mercer and Priestland landed the conversion.
Another penalty from the Bath No.10 moved the hosts into the lead and Alex Cuthbert should have scored after running the length of the pitch, only for Mercer to arrive at the very last second to tackle him into touch.
Bath ended the contest in admirable attacking fashion, but as soon as the clock ticked into the red it was up to Priestland to boot the ball into the stands and secure the scalp.
The scorers
For Bath:
Try: Dunn
Con: Priestland
Pens: Priestland 2
For Exeter Chiefs:
Try: Hill
Con: Simmonds
Pen: Simmonds
Teams:
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Max Wright, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Tom Ellis, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Charlie Ewels (captain), 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Christian Judge, 19 Elliot Stooke, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tom O'Flaherty, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Alex Cuthbert, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Jannes Kirsten, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Tom Hendrickson
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Paul Dix
TMO: Sean Davey