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Bristol Bears go top after second-half comeback stuns Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 20
'Start again, take a breath, build a score, be there at the end'
Pat Lam outlines what he said at half-time.
'The lack of composure we showed is beyond me'
Rob Baxter says Exeter did a lot of "stupid" stuff in that second half and now they must go to La Rochelle "fighting".
Table-toppers
Bristol leap-frog Northampton Saints with that phenomenal second-half comeback.
They were 17-0 down at the break! Twenty unanswered points for Pat Lam's men. Amazing.
Full-time | Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 20
WHAT. A. COMEBACK. ��#EXEvBRIpic.twitter.com/cvy9oS8DR4
— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) November 10, 2019
Try, Dan Thomas! Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 20, 80 minutes
Stunning. Will Capon, the 20 year-old Premiership debutant, nails a throw to the tail and the maul gathers steam.
It heads over the line and Thomas is the man at the bottom. Sheedy lands the conversion for good measure.
TMO
Wow. Bristol are over the line from a maul that chewed up 20 metres...
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 79 minutes
Nathan Hughes gets over the ball and earns one last chance for Bristol by winning a holding-on penalty.
Kirsten then obstructs Bristol's Dan Thomas...another penalty. Bristol are in the Exeter 22.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 77 minutes
Bristol return the favour. Now Piers O'Conor chucks the ball into touch.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 76 minutes
A very rusty pass from Jack Nowell sails well beyond any teammates and into touch.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 74 minutes
Six minutes left. Bristol clear from their own 22 over halfway.
Match action
Here goes Luke Morahan again.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 72 minutes
Bristol stretch Exeter on both flanks before Sheedy's chip surrenders possession. Exeter then get the penalty as Nathan Hughes is trapped over the ball.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 69 minutes
Chiefs force a scrum penalty - they would be in trouble without that dominance today - and go to touch.
Matt Kvesic has been sacrificed for Jack Maunder as Rob Baxter opts to get a specialist scrum-half on the field.
Try, Piers O'Conor! Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 13, 66 minutes
Exeter are in danger of throwing this away. A really loose period featuring errors from both teams ends with Nathan Hughes flipping a pass to Morahan, who breaks around Nowell and feeds O'Conor on the inside.
The conversion is easy for Sheedy. Now then...
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 6, 62 minutes
Jack Nowell's first contribution is an excellent one. He jumps to gather a cross-field kick above his head under pressure from two chasers.
Nowell calls for a mark then bangs a kick down-field that skips into touch.
Yellow card, Nic White!
Exeter's scrum-half receives a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Bristol go quickly...
Penalty, Callum Sheedy! Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 6, 59 minutes
Superb kick from Sheedy.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 3, 59 minutes
Slade misses touch from a penalty and Charles Piutau clears. He does not find touch, but Pier O'Conor hits Hogg extremely hard on the follow-up and Bristol win a breakdown penalty.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 3, 55 minutes
Hughes spills so Chiefs get the put-in but it's really mess and Bristol muscle a turnover. Kvesic makes a nuisance of himself a few phases later, though, and it's another scrum to the hosts.
Huge cheers roll away Sandy Park. Jack Nowell is on for Sam Hill.
View from the dugout
��| Here's your exclusive #SubCam reaction from Sandy Park as visitors trail by 1⃣4⃣ early in the second half.
⚒️ 17-3 ��#EXEvBRIpic.twitter.com/vLG45sRUPL— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) November 10, 2019
No try
Fantastic tackle from Luatua.
TMO
Has Alex Cuthbert scored from Stuart Hogg's pass? Steven Luatua was covering across...
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 3, 50 minutes
Uncharacteristically inaccurate from Chiefs. They cough up possession two metres out. Randall scrambles a clearance into touch.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 3, 48 minutes
Chiefs force a scrum penalty. You will have heard this next bit before. They are going to the corner...
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 3, 43 minutes
Jonny Hill tears up and smashes Sheedy in the shadow of Bristol's posts but Hepburn is penalised for an overeager clear-out.
Penalty, Callum Sheedy! Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 3, 43 minutes
Nice kick from Sheedy. Bristol are off the mark.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 0, 42 minutes
Far more encouraging for Bristol. Thomas and Randall combine to make ground and play comes back for a penalty for Nic White's deliberate knock-on.
Callum Sheedy is lining up a kick at goal.
Second half
Two changes for Bristol. Dan Thomas replaces Jake Heenan and John Afoa gives way for Lewis Thiede.
Match action
Luke Morahan has been Bristol's brightest player so far. He has beaten five Exeter defenders so far.
Half-time | Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 0
Bristol's lineout fails to function again. Exeter gather and clear to touch. That's the end of the first half.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 0, 39 minutes
Bristol are looking for something on the verge of half-time. Morahan skates across the field. From the next phase, Sam Simmonds creeps offside.
Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 0, 37 minutes
A long period of possession for Exeter ends with Nathan Hughes bundling Henry Slade into touch.
Stunning score
"Really pleased with their attitude..."
"We're reaping the rewards at the moment!"
DoR turned commentator?... Love this ��
Rob Baxter's in-game interview coincided with Nic White's try for @ExeterChiefs. pic.twitter.com/TMuqjjk1TR— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) November 10, 2019
Match action
Piers O'Conor attempts to escape from Siale Piutau.
Penalty, Joe Simmonds! Exeter Chiefs 17 Bristol Bears 0, 32 minutes
Easy kick for Simmonds junior.
Exeter Chiefs 14 Bristol Bears 0, 31 minutes
Dave Attwood is penalises for a clattering tackle on Jack Yeandale, who was only a decoy. Exeter will aim to take the points this time.
Exeter Chiefs 14 Bristol Bears 0, 30 minutes
The hosts muscle a scrum penalty and hit touch inside Bristol's 22. They are mauling...
Exeter Chiefs 14 Bristol Bears 0, 27 minutes
Thacker saves Bristol again. His counter-ruck helps his side win a penalty.
That sums up Bristol's first half-hour, though. They mess up the ensuing lineout.
Exeter Chiefs 14 Bristol Bears 0, 25 minutes
Luke Morahan sparks Bristol with a mazy run that beats a number of Chefs tacklers. However, the attack loses momentum and Matt Kvesic is over the ball to win a penalty.
Try, Nic White! Exeter Chiefs 14 Bristol Bears 0, 23 minutes
What a try. Exeter nab the lineout and move the ball quickly to their right edge. The Simmonds brothers move the ball to Slade, who flicks on to Hogg. Tom O' Flaherty tears down the flank.
The ball moves in-field and then White snipes back against the grain to score. Joe Simmonds converts. Exeter look in the mood to cause serious trouble here.
Exeter Chiefs 7 Bristol Bears 0, 20 minutes
Excellent from Harry Thacker. Slade cuts a short line but Bristol's hooker jackals to force a penalty.
Exeter Chiefs 7 Bristol Bears 0, 18 minutes
Big let-off for Bristol. Hogg's excellent grubber skids into space and holds up on the five-metre line.
Charles Piutau covers and carries into touch, giving Chiefs a five-metre lineout...but they mess it up. Dave Attwood wrecks the maul.
Match action
Here's Henry Slade making a low tackle on powerful opposite man Will Hurrell.
Try, Sam Simmonds! Exeter Chiefs 7 Bristol Bears 0, 15 minutes
Slade goes extremely close from the base of a ruck, jinking past Harry Thacker to within a metre of the line. A couple of picks and shunts later, Sam Simmonds powers over. His brother Joe adds the extras.
Exeter Chiefs 0 Bristol Bears 0, 13 minutes
Steven Luatua is penalised for hooking the arm of Exeter jumper Jannes Kirsten. Chiefs hit the corner...
Exeter Chiefs 0 Bristol Bears 0, 11 minutes
Has Slade scored? No. Alec Hepburn knocked on while rushing up to tackle Callum Sheedy.
Exeter Chiefs 0 Bristol Bears 0, 9 minutes
Chris Vui steals the lineout for Bristol. Superb spring from the Samoa lock.
Exeter Chiefs 0 Bristol Bears 0, 8 minutes
More scruffiness, but this time it comes from an excellent defensive read from Bristol centre Will Hurrell, who pressurises Joe Simmonds after running past the decoy line of Henry Slade.
Matt Kvesic spills a few minutes later when Exeter attempt a bounce-back move but Jack Yeandle saves his side with a breakdown turnover. Slade whacks to touch.
Exeter Chiefs 0 Bristol Bears 0, 4 minutes
Messy from Nathan Hughes. Bristol get another put-in as Exeter fail to deal with Harry Randall's box-kick.
The visitors then earn a free-kick for an early shove, but Hughes gaffes the tap and knocks on.
Meanwhile at the Madejski
26' We close the home side's lead to six points as Tom Hardwick sends his second penalty goal attempt - from 25m out - through the uprights. [12-6] #COYT �� #LIRvLEI ☘️��
— Leicester Tigers (@LeicesterTigers) November 10, 2019
Exeter Chiefs 0 Bristol Bears 0, 2 minutes
Encouraging start from Exeter. Hogg gets the ball in his hands down the blindside and beats another man. Jonny Hill hits a good angle in midfield a few phases later.
There is a knock-on on the edge of Bristol's 22, though, so the Bears will feed the first scrum.
Kick-off
Here we go then! Exeter fly-half Joe Simmonds gets us underway with a clip down-field.
Bristol gather and Harry Randall box-kicks down-field to Stuart Hogg, who beats a defender with a lively counter.
Referee
Karl Dickson is in charge today.
Ten minutes to kick-off
Conditions have stayed fair. It's crisp and still - especially so for Sandy Park. Here come the players.
We will have a minute's silence before kick-off to mark Armistice Day tomorrow.
Movember
Some staggering facial hair among the Bristol players here.
��️| "Whenever you play Exeter, you know it's going to be a physical game, so the boys are up for it and can't wait to get stuck in."
Hear the thoughts of @CPiutau from our pre-match pitch walk interview. ��#EXEvBRIpic.twitter.com/O8LR22uJs6— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) November 10, 2019
Twenty minutes to go
Kick-off is getting closer. Here is Bristol full-back Charles Piutau. His positional head-to-head with Stuart Hogg has the potential to be absolutely brilliant.
��️| "Whenever you play Exeter, you know it's going to be a physical game, so the boys are up for it and can't wait to get stuck in."
Hear the thoughts of @CPiutau from our pre-match pitch walk interview. ��#EXEvBRIpic.twitter.com/O8LR22uJs6— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) November 10, 2019
'We have to focus on ourselves'
Rob Baxter says the best way to respond to a turbulent week is to deliver a performance.
Interestingly, he says that his World Cup contingent are ready to go and that Exeter would be "running away from a decision" if they rested Henry Slade, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jack Nowell - as well as Australia scrum-half Nic White.
He wants to see where they are now and organise a break for them later.
Jack is back
Jack Nowell had precisely 12 minutes of game-time during the Rugby World Cup. He'll be itching to join the fray from Exeter's bench.
Behind the scenes
That is an exceptional Exeter back row.
�� All set for match-day here at @SandyParkExeter, does it get much better than a west-country derby on a Sunday? #EXEvBRIpic.twitter.com/tbQKOU2WDI
— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) November 10, 2019
As they stand
After three fixtures yesterday, then, this is what the table looks like. You can see why today is so intriguing.
'These guys are 11 or 12 years in the making'
"Excitement is the big word today, but it's going to be a real mental and physical challenge."
Pat Lam previews this afternoon's @premrugby West Country derby against @ExeterChiefs. #EXEvBRIpic.twitter.com/fQhOg5wWB3— Bristol Bears (@BristolBears) November 10, 2019
A typically interesting interview from Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam, who says that Exeter have built up cohesion over the past few years and 'work a certain way to try and fatigue you'.
He also points out that this will let him know where the Bears are as a team.
Reminder of the teams
Here are the line ups for this afternoon's Gallagher @premrugby Rd 4 clash with @BristolBearspic.twitter.com/ScKuuJS5Qj
— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) November 10, 2019
Conditions...
...look fine for now. We have about 50 minutes until kick-off.
Hello!
Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of this Premiership encounter between Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears. It’s a south west regional derby – there are plenty of those in this competition now – and should be a compelling game.
Of course, the unavoidable story of this week in English domestic rugby has revolved around Saracens and the salary cap. Having lost to Mark McCall’s side in the last two Premiership finals, Exeter have more reason than most to feel aggrieved.
This is what Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter said earlier this week:
“We’ve actually just cleared the decks a little bit in our meeting today. I just sat in front of all the players and said ‘What do you think of all this salary cap stuff?’
“At first, they all looked at me a bit strangely, but I know they’ve all been talking about it and I know they will all feel differently about it all.
“Some will feel sorry for themselves as they think things haven’t been all that fair. Others will be angry and others will be looking forward to playing Saracens again.
“Across the board, there are all kinds of emotions, but what I’ve just said to them all is let’s make sure we clarify what we are all about. We are a club that have an important Premiership game this Sunday. We’ve worked very hard to be here and this is what should occupy all of our energy.
“As I said to them all, I think it’s good not to run away from interesting conversations the lads are going to have among themselves, simply because by doing that it now allows us to get out and train really well for Bristol.”
It will be extremely interesting to gauge the reaction of the hosts at Sandy Park, because Bristol will not die wondering.
