Exeter Chiefs go to second in Premiership

Exeter Chiefs moved in to second place in the Aviva Premiership standings by thumping Wasps 24-3 at Sandy Park.

The result earns Exeter a home Semi-final in the play offs.

Both sides started the match assured of a place in the top four of the Premiership, but it was the Chiefs who won at a canter, thanks to tries from Olly Woodburn, Phil Dollman and Jack Nowell.

It took until the half hour mark for Woodburn to open the scoring in the match, but once he did, the home side never looked back, running in two further tries.

Gareth Steenson was reliable from the tee as ever, strengthening his claim for the golden boot, converting all three tries, and missing just the one penalty in windy conditions in Devon.

Woodburn’’s opening try showed strength and courage, doing just enough to break down what at that point had been a tightly packed rear-guard from the visitors.

The winger shoved past Frank Halai before touching down in the corner, with Steenson converting well from the angle.

Elliott Daly brought Wasps back into the game with a penalty from the halfway line, guiding the ball between the posts despite the blustery conditions.

After the break Steenson’’s penalty was successful, but a second minutes later went wide, despite its relative simplicity compared to his two previous kicks.

Wasps could not make him pay, and Exeter stole a stronghold in the game, Dollman selflessly passing to Ian Whitten, who returned the favour to allow the full-back to dot down unopposed.

James Short then looked as if he had got his team’’s third try, but it was disallowed for simultaneous grounding of the ball, allowing Nowell to be the man who put the Chiefs one try away from the bonus point.

He killed the game as a contest, finding a gap between two defenders before crossing the whitewash.

There was to be no fourth try, but on this evidence, Wasps have a lot of work to before the semi-finals begin.

Final Score Exeter Chiefs 24 (7) Wasps 3 (3)

Scorers

Exeter Chiefs
Tries – Woodburn, Dollman, Nowell
Pen – Steenson
Con – Steenson 3
Drop –

Wasps
Tries –
Pen – Daly
Con –
Drop –

Match Officials
Referee : Matthew Carly (44th Premiership game).
Assistant Referees: Paul Dix & Ashley Rowden.
TMO: Graham Hughes.

Teams

Exeter

15 Phil Dollman , 14 Jack Nowell , 13 Henry Slade , 12 Ian Whitten , 11 Olly Woodburn , 10 Gareth Steenson (capt) , 9 Will Chudley, 1 Ben Moon , 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie , 3 Harry Williams , 4 Mitch Lees , 5 Geoff Parling , 6 Dave Ewers , 7 Julian Salvi , 8 Don Armand

Replacements : 16 Jack Yeandle , 17 Alec Hepburn , 18 Carl Rimmer , 19 Damian Welch , 20 Thomas Waldrom , 21 Dave Lewis , 22 Sam Hill , 23 James Short

Wasps

15. Charles Piutau , 14. Christian Wade , 13. Elliot Daly , 12. Siale Piutau , 11. Frank Halai , 10. Jimmy Gopperth , 9. Joe Simpson, 1. Matt Mullan , 2. Carlo Festuccia , 3. Lorenzo Cittadini , 4. Joe Launchbury , 5. Bradley Davies , 6. James Haskell (c) , 7. George Smith , 8. Nathan Hughes

Replacements :16. Ashley Johnson , 17. Tom Bristow , 18. Phil Swainston , 19. Will Rowlands , 20. Thomas Young , 21. Craig Hampson , 22. Ruaridh Jackson , 23. Rob Miller