Bath go prime with Finn Russell to the fore in thrilling derby victory towards Exeter

Bath went to the highest of the Prem after beating Exeter Chiefs in a pulsating West Country derby on the Rec however they have been made to struggle all the best way in an 11-try thriller.

Exeter trailed 26-10 on the interval however rallied to steer 33-31 halfway by the second half earlier than a yellow card for scrum-half Stephen Varney ultimately proved decisive.

Cam Redpath, Dan du Preez, Bernard van der Linde, Ted Hill and Finn Russell scored Bath’s tries. There was additionally a penalty attempt award with Russell changing 4. The massively spectacular Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored two tries for Exeter, with Jack Yeandle, Josh Iosefa-Scott and Varney additionally going over. Henry Slade transformed three and Harvey Skinner added a late penalty.

Bath took management as first Redpath intercepted a Skinner go to run 50m and rating earlier than Van der Linde slipped by a niche within the guests’ defence for a person attempt. Russell transformed each to offer his aspect a 14-0 lead on the finish of the primary quarter.

Exeter badly wanted a response they usually acquired one due to the robust operating of Feyi-Waboso. First he evaded a deal with from Ollie Lawrence to place the defence on the again foot and when the ball was recycled he powered previous one other two coverers with Varney available to landing.

The hosts scored their third attempt once they capitalised on a beneficial bounce on midway. Van der Linde and Ewan Richards took benefit to offer Du Preez the possibility to power his means over from shut vary, however Bath bungled the kick-off so Yeandle was in a position to preserve his aspect in rivalry with a attempt from a driving lineout.

However, with half-time approaching, Bath exerted a interval of strain that culminated in Russell dummying his means over for the bonus-point attempt earlier than changing for a 26-10 interval lead.

Exeter started the second half strongly and have been rewarded with two tries in fast succession. First Iosefa-Scott crashed over from shut vary earlier than Feyi-Waboso took his alternative in type by brushing apart two would-be tacklers. Slade transformed each and his aspect have been proper again within the contest with simply two factors between the groups.

Exeter took the lead for the primary time when former Bath participant Will Butt carved the hosts aside to offer Feyi-Waboso with a straightforward run-in for his second attempt. The house aspect have been quickly awarded a penalty attempt with Varney given a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on and within the scrum-half’s absence, Hill battered his means over.

Slade missed badly with a penalty try so Skinner took over the goal-kicking and his success gave Chiefs two deserved bonus factors from the match.