Chiefs defeated by Bath Rugby

Exeter Chiefs 23 Bath Rugby 27

The Bath hoodoo shows no sign of abating for Exeter Chiefs after they were once again undone by their Westcountry rivals in a hard-fought derby encounter at a packed Sandy Park.

Mike Ford’s high-flying outfit edged out their Devon counterparts thanks to tries from Ollie Devoto, Kyle Eastmond and Nick Abendanon, whilst Ford’s talented son, fly-half George Ford, weighed in with the remainder of their points as he converted all three scores, as well as adding two penalties.

For the Chiefs, it was yet more Aviva Premiership heartache as Rob Baxter’s side, undone just seven days earlier by just a solitary point by league leaders Northampton Saints, again failed to do enough to sink one of the division’s leading lights.

Ben White and Ian Whitten both crossed for converted tries, whilst Irish fly-half Gareth Steenson again produced an unblemished display with the boot as he added a further three penalties for the hosts.

The frustration, disappointment – even anger – at the final whistle was clear to see from Baxter and his players. Not one of them needed any kind of reminding that this was a glorious opportunity to post a first win over Bath since 1978.

Ahead of kick-off, the Chiefs had made only slight tweaks to their line-up from that which had lost to the Saints. Flanker Tom Johnson was recalled to the starting XV after being released by England and his inclusion meant Dave Ewers reverted back to the base of the scrum.

The other changes in personnel saw Ben White take over at open-side from former Bath favourite James Scaysbrook, whilst Hoani Tui was given the nod in the front-row ahead of Alex Brown.

Bath, meanwhile, were also boosted by the return of several international names. Back into the frame came Paul James and Dave Attwood, along with David Wilson who was making his comeback from injury.

James and Wilson were joined in the front-row by Ross Batty, whilst behind there was a rare start for Micky Young at scrum-half and Horacio Agulla on the right wing.

With personnel in place, it was the Chiefs who set the early tone. With their ears no doubt still ringing from Baxter’s criticism of their first half display against the Saints, this was a much-improved opening from the Devonians.

*Pictures: Exeter Rugby Club / Pinnacle Photo Agency

Referee: A Small

Attendance: 10,745

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v Saracens (A), Aviva Premiership, Sunday, February 23 (3.15pm)

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