Exeter stun Gloucester to break season duck

MATCH REPORT: Exeter surprised friend and foe by defeating Gloucester by 22-15 to record their first win of the 2024/5 Premiership season.

Exeter bossed the opening minutes tactically and it paid off when Townsend’s kick led to Gloucester having a five metre defensive lineout.

The set-piece went pear-shaped as the ball was overthrown and pounced on by hooker Dan Frost who gladly accepted the late Christmas gift to open Exeter’s account in the second minute of the match, with Slade slotting the extras.

Slade missed a relatively easy penalty to get Exeter into double figures in the seventh minute.

Argentina international Santiago Carreras got the visitors on the board to cut the hosts’ lead to four points with a penalty in the 11th minute.

A penalty for offside gave Slade the opportunity to give his forwards a five metre lineout which was knocked on by Gloucester which gave Exeter a second bite at the cherry with the attacking scrum.

Another penalty for a tackle off the ball saw the hosts go for the tap-and-go option as they built a couple of phases before Slade nailed a cross-field kick to centre Tamati Tua who dotted down for the try which Slade converted.

Exeter had ample opportunities inside Gloucester’s half in the final 10 minutes of the first-half, but Gloucester managed to keep them at bay to ensure they stay in the fight in the second stanza.

Slade, who was very much a hero in the first-half cost his side in the second stanza when his pass was intercepted by his opposite Gareth Anscombe who effortlessly ran in the try under the posts in the 45th minute.

Exeter turned the tempo up and put the visitors under all sorts of pressure and earned a penalty for offside for their efforts in the 56th minute.

They opted to roll the dice and went for the five metre lineout but it backfired as Vermeulen botched possession following a solid tackle by Lewis Ludlow.

The momentum quickly shifted when a clever kick by Josh Hathaway down the touchline saw Ollie Woodburn taking it into touch as he looked to cover it which led to a lineout maul for the visitors that saw Jamal Ford-Robinson go over to take the lead as Carreras was unable to convert.

Exeter took the lead back moments later through a penalty by Slade in the 65th minute.

Gloucester came close to getting a try a few minutes later but ultimately settled for the offside penalty which Carreras missed almost right in front of the posts.

A great burst by replacement Ross Vincent saw Exeter go deep into the Gloucester 22-metre-area and Joshua Iosefa-Scott barged over from close-range to extend the lead to seven points with five minutes to go.

A penalty to the hosts inside their own half with two minutes to go was enough to get them into Gloucester’s territory and play the clock until the fulltime siren sounded that saw Exeter get their first win in seven and a half months and their first of the 2024/5 Premiership season.

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Scorers

For Exeter
Tries: Frost, Tua, Iosefa-Scott
Cons: Slade 2
Pen: Slade

For Gloucester 
Tries: Anscombe, Ford-Robinson
Con: Carreras
Pen: Carreras

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Ben Hammersley, 12 Tamati Tua, 11 Tommy Wyatt, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Stu Townsend, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Richard Capstick, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 18 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zack Wimbush

Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Josh Hathaway, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jack Clement, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Thomas, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Chris Harris, 23 George Barton