Bristol edge past Exeter in rainstorm to go third

The Prem

Exeter (3) 3

Pen: Slade

Bristol (5) 8

Try: Heward Pen: Williams

Bristol Bears leapfrogged Exeter Chiefs to move up to third in the Prem table with a hard-fought 8-3 win in appalling conditions at Sandy Park.

With the rain teeming down, the first half was largely punctuated by handling errors and referee Karl Dickson’s whistle, with neither side able to get points on the board until Henry Slade’s penalty just before the half-hour mark.

The game’s only try then came through Noah Heward’s sliding effort, after Olly Woodburn was unable to gather the ball as half-time approached.

In what had looked increasingly like a scoreless second half, James Williams’ late penalty condemned Rob Baxter’s men to their first home defeat of the season.

In a match that was meant to herald the long-awaited returns of Bears stalwarts Steven Luatua and Gabriel Ibitoye, all the focus was on the conditions, with neither team able to produce the running rugby so desired by both fan bases.

Barely able to see through the rain, both sides adopted a hard yards and box kicking approach in the first half, one that failed to deliver any real attacking momentum for either until the dying moments of the first half.

It was Slade who stepped up, converting a penalty, minutes after Tom Jordan had squandered a similar opportunity for Bristol at the other end.

In a game desperately crying out for points, Slade was then forced to dot the ball down under his own posts after Woodburn’s mishandling led to the ball squirming out on the liquid surface.

From the ensuing scrum, Bristol eventually capitalised.

Slade was lucky not to be penalised when he knocked on as he attempted to intercept a pass meant for Matias Moroni deep in the Chiefs’ 22.

But Louis Rees-Zammit was able to pick up the ball and find space on the outside to feed Heward, who slid in for what turned out to be the only try of the game.

With the rain easing as the second half began, Exeter drove up into the Bears’ 22, but were unable to break through the impervious Bristol defence, eventually being penalised after Gabriel Oghre had stolen the ball back.

Slade then had the chance to put Exeter ahead for the first time, but his penalty from the halfway line drifted agonisingly wide.

The Chiefs had the majority of the ball but were unable to capitalise and it was the Bears who looked most like scoring when Rees-Zammit counter-attacked, only for his grubber kick forward to drift long, allowing Woodburn to recover.

The home side then paid for their profligacy.

Slade’s up and under was charged down in midfield, forcing the England centre to dive on the loose ball before being penalised for holding on.

Williams then made no mistake, slotting the ensuing penalty through the posts as Bristol left Sandy Park sodden, but victorious.

The result leaves Exeter in fifth on 35 points, following Leicester’s 34-7 win over Harlequins.

Bristol Bears’ director of rugby Pat Lam told BBC Radio Bristol:

“The beauty of the weather is that it was black and white, we had to roll our sleeves up and commit to everything.

“The physicality, the getting up off the ground, making another tackle, the defensive sets we had were brilliant, not just to defend but also not to give away penalties.

“We’re really showing that we can win in lots of ways – there is more to this team than just throwing the ball around.

“To win eight games out of the last nine is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.”

Exeter Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon:

“We made quite a lot of errors, there’s a lot of things for us to look at that we could’ve done better, but the Bears made a lot of errors as well.

“In a very tight game, they probably shaded the areas that win and lose games. Their mistakes hurt them less than ours did.

“We didn’t quite finish things off, they defended their line really strongly, we weren’t quite good enough today, let’s move on.”

Exeter: Woodburn; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Haydon-Wood, Brown-Bampoe; Skinner, Chapman; Sio, Dweba, Tchumbadze; Jenkins (c), Zambonin, Hooper, Roots, Fisilau.

Replacements: Yeandle, Goodrick-Clarke, Roots, Pearson, Capstick, Cairns, Hammersley, Ridl.

Bristol: Rees-Zammit; Heward, Moroni, Janse van Rensburg, Ravouvou; Jordan, Randall; Genge, Oghre, Kloska; Rubiolo, Batley, Luatua, Harding (c), Mata.

Replacements: Thacker, Lahiff, Halliwell, Owen, Grondona, Marmion, Williams, Ibitoye.

Referee: Karl Dickson.