Exeter Chiefs were blown away in the second half at the Kingspan Stadium to lose 52-24 to Ulster Rugby on Friday night to exit the European stage without a win this season.

Chiefs were level at 17-17 at half-time after tries from Paul Brown-Bampoe, Ross Vintcent and Rusi Tuima, but only managed an 80th minute consolation try from Zack Wimbush after the break.

The Chiefs, who made 12 changes, collapsed horribly in Belfast, with the United Rugby Championship side running in eight tries with lock Cormac Izuchukwu touching down a hat-trick. He was joined on the scoresheet by Dave McCann (2), Nick Timoney, Rob Herring and Ben Carson.

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Ulster’s first win in Europe this season could yet see them qualify for the knockout phase with the Sharks’ visit to Bordeaux on Sunday sealing their fate, but they are assured of a place in the Challenge Cup as a minimum while Exeter will have a comparatively quiet April.

Exeter exploded out of the blocks by scoring two outstanding early tries through Brown-Bampoe and Vintcent. The winger crossed after a fluent attacking move from Chiefs with Will Rigg and skipper Jack Innard making eye-catching carries before Will Haydon-Wood launched a cross-field kick for Ben Hammersley to take on full and offload to Brown-Bampoe to gather and crash over.

Italian international Vintcent showed why it was a toss-up whether he would be a centre or a number eight when he exploded through a ruck 75m out from the line and had the speed to finish the solo scorer, weaving in and out to dumbfound the home defence.

Ulster hit back when Cormac Izuchukwu and Dave McCann went over after errors and slips in disciplines allowed the Northern Irish side easy access into the Exeter 22 and there was still time before the interval for Tuima and Nick Timoney to exchange tries.

But from the moment Rob Herring finished a driving maul in the 48th minute, Exeter looked like a spent force with replacement scrum-half John Cooney bringing extra zip to the hosts.

Izuchukwu and Ben Carson were the next to go over for Ulster who, knowing the result was all but assured, were in search of the points that would improve their chances of progressing to the last 16.

Exeter were inviting runners into large gaps and they were beached again by McCann before Izuchukwu went over for his hat-trick. Wimbush’s 79th-minute try at least meant they didn’t finish the campaign without a single match point as it secured the attacking bonus point.

Chiefs will now turn their attention to the Gallagher Premiership with Saracens coming to Sandy Park on Saturday with England players unavailable for selection ahead of the Six Nations.

Ulster Rugby: 15. Stewart Moore, 14. Werner Kok, 13. Ben Carson, 12. Jude Postlethwaite, 11. Mike Lowry, 10. Jack Murphy, 9. Nathan Doak, 1. Eric O'Sullivan, 2. Rob Herring, 3. Scott Wilson, 4. Iain Henderson (c), 5. Cormac Izuchukwu, 6. James McNabney, 7. Nick Timoney, 8. Dave McCann.

Replacements: 16. Tom Stewart, 17. Callum Reid, 18. Corrie Barrett, 19. Kieran Treadwell, 20. Harry Sheridan, 21. John Cooney, 22. Jake Flannery, 23. Rob Lyttle.

Exeter Chiefs: 15. Harvey Skinner, 14. Ben Hammersley, 13. Joe Hawkins, 12. Will Rigg, 11. Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10. Will Haydon-Wood, 9. Niall Armstrong, 1. Will Goodrick-Clarke, 2. Jack Innard (c), 3. Josh Iosefa-Scott, 4. Rus Tuima, 5. Christ Tshiunza, 6. Martin Moloney, 7. Richard Capstick, 8. Ross Vintcent.

Replacements: 16. Max Norey, 17. Kwenzo Blose, 18. Jimmy Roots, 19. Jack Dunne, 20. Lewis Pearson, 21. Joe Bailey, 22. Tom Cairns, 23. Zack Wimbush.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)

Assistant referees: Ruairidh Campbell (Sco) and Rob McDowell (Sco)

TMO: Mike Adamson (Sco)