Leicester Tigers 28 Exeter Chiefs 15

Olly Cracknell scored the first try of Leicester’s bonus-point victory over Exeter and it was one for No 8s everywhere – including his head coach, Michael Cheika, the proud owner of that jersey in his playing days.

Cracknell, on the back of a solid five-metre scrum, picked from the base, beat Jacques Vermeulen around the corner, ploughed into Henry Slade and dotted down under the sticks.

Before this season, Cracknell had mainly featured professionally at flanker but his versatility is becoming a real asset for Leicester, who now find themselves back in the top four after this victory, their first in four Premiership matches. It might not just be for the Tigers that Cracknell could be an asset, either; the 30-year-old is uncapped and qualifies for both Wales and England. His form this season has been phenomenal — as good as anyone in England, according to Cheika — and surely both Warren Gatland and Steve Borthwick will, at least, have been given food for thought of late.

“I’ve really enjoyed coaching him,” Cheika said. “He’s an intelligent guy and thinks about the game well. He’s a bloody good player, carrying well for us and being physical. He’s stoic and quiet but he’s becoming invaluable. He’s probably one of the best back-rowers in England right now. He might not have the flash and the glitter but he’s doing the job, for sure.

“I don’t think he’s got the ‘potential’ [for Test rugby] – he’s there. If they played him at that level then he would definitely perform, because he’s got the mentality and the temperament.”

Leicester played the Baltic conditions brilliantly in the first half, with Cam Henderson adding a second try – after a silky Handre Pollard break – to give Tigers a 14-3 half-time lead. But at the start of the second half the hosts lost their physicality, and a Tom Wyatt double gave the struggling Chiefs, on the back of their first Premiership win of the season at home to Gloucester last weekend, a slender second-half lead.

Then came the key moment. Freddie Steward leapt in typical fashion to defuse a bomb and Will Rigg collided with him in the air. Rigg did not touch the ball and there was aerial contact; in today’s world, referee Christophe Ridley was always going to brandish the yellow card.

But with Chiefs down to 14, first Ollie Hassell-Collins and then, late on, Ben Youngs sniped for Leicester to secure the bonus-point victory and deny the Chiefs so much as a losing bonus point for what was, in truth, a fine effort at this East Midlands fortress.

Still, for Rob Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, the outcome of Rigg’s actions should not receive a binary judgment.

“The yellow card came at a key moment just when we had taken the lead,” Baxter said. “Some of these decisions baffle me a little bit. The referee is right there and thinks it’s a knock-on and after a TMO process it becomes a yellow card. It’s clearly a competition of sorts. If he touches the ball it’s a good contest? How much closer he can get to touching the ball, I don’t know.

“If we want to encourage contests for the ball, there has to be a way of officiating it that isn’t either good or bad. That was an in-between case. What hurts the most is leading with a quarter to go and leaving with nothing. We have to take responsibility for that. Defensively, we made mistakes with the yellow card.”

On Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the England wing who dislocated his shoulder a fortnight ago, Baxter said that there was either a surgery or rehab route back to fitness. The former would rule Feyi-Waboso out of the Six Nations; the latter would not.

“It’s almost down to how the player feels and he’ll decide where he goes at the start of next week,” Baxter added. “We have an operation slot booked.”

If Feyi-Waboso were to nurse that shoulder through the Six Nations, he might rub shoulders with Cracknell, as friend or foe.

Match details

Scoring sequence: 0-3 Slade pen, 5-3 Cracknell try, 7-3 Pollard con, 12-3 Henderson try, 14-3 Pollard con, 14-8 Wyatt try, 14-13 Wyatt try, 14-15 Hodge con, 19-15 Hassell-Collins try, 21-15 Pollard con, 26-15 Youngs try, 28-15 Pollard con. H-T: 14-3

Leicester: F Steward; J Bassett (Shillcock 68), D Kelly, S Kata (Woodward 59), O Hassell-Collins; H Pollard, J van Poortvliet (Youngs 66); N Smith (Whitcombe 74), J Montoya (c) (Clare 72), J Heyes (Cole 66), C Henderson, H Wells (Holloway 59), H Liebenberg (Rogerson 41), T Reffell, O Cracknell.

Exeter: J Hodge; B Hammersley (Rigg 45), Z Wimbush, T Tua, T Wyatt; H Slade, S Townsend (Cairns 76); S Sio (Goodrick-Clarke 45), D Frost (Innard 45), M Street (Iosefa-Scott 45), D Jenkins (c), F Molina (Tuima 59), E Roots, J Vermeulen (Capstick 59), G Fisilau.

Replacements unused: Haydon-Wood. Yellow card: Rigg 65

Referee: C Ridley

05:01 PM GMT

Thanks for following with us

I am off to try and relocate my fingers. Do stay with us, however, for live coverage of Saracens’ clash with Bristol.

Have a good Saturday night!

04:57 PM GMT

Full-time: LEI 28 EXE 15

It’s all over here. In the end, Leicester earn the bonus-point victory but Exeter will be gutted to be leaving the East Midlands empty-handed, having led for a good chunk of the second half. Ultimately, Rigg’s yellow card led to Hassell-Collins’ try, which changed the game. Youngs’s late try rubbed salt in, to secure the bonus for Leicester, and take the Tigers up to third in the Premiership table - perhaps temporarily depending on results later today.

04:53 PM GMT

At Kingsholm

Gloucester have beaten Sale 36-20, so Leicester will go third here, with Saracens still to play later today.

04:51 PM GMT

CON POLLARD: LEI 28 EXE 15

It’s good from Pollard, four from four today. Game over, surely, with only two minutes left.

Exeter deserve a losing bonus.

04:49 PM GMT

TRY YOUNGS: LEI 26 EXE 15

Leicester have seen off the Exeter onslaught - with a bonus point!

There are three minutes left here and Youngs has dummied and darted under the sticks, after great work from Pollard, Kelly and Woodward in the build-up.

Heartbreak for the Chiefs, who fought so hard to get back into it.

04:46 PM GMT

74 mins: LEI 21 EXE 15

Reffell is Leicester’s saviour! The Chiefs press for a winner but the openside wins his first turnover of the match at a crucial time and Youngs clears to halfway.

Exeterr will throw in.

04:45 PM GMT

Leicester’s third

04:43 PM GMT

72 mins: LEI 21 EXE 15

The Tigers cough up the restart and now defend a scrum inside their own half.

Exeter push inside the Leicester 22 and Slade throws the hail mary! Hassell-Collins sniffs an intercept, getting his fingers to thhe ball, but he knocks on with two hands and we will restart with a scrum just outside the hosts’ 22.

04:40 PM GMT

CON POLLARD: LEI 21 EXE 15

That is a fabulous kick from wide on the left, giving Leicester a six-point buffer.

04:39 PM GMT

TRY HASSELL-COLLINS: LEI 19 EXE 15

Kelly bursts through the midfield! Only a fabulous Capstick tackle stops a certain try.

Leicester, five metres out, keep it tight but Exeter run out of numbers when the Tigers go through the hands and Hassell-Collins walks it in, with the Chiefs down to 14.

04:37 PM GMT

YELLOW CARD RIGG: LEI 14 EXE 15

Right call as Rigg gets nowhere near the ball and takes Steward out in the air. No more than yellow, mind you.

Cole and Youngs come on to rapturous cheers at Welford Road.

04:36 PM GMT

65 mins: LEI 14 EXE 15

Leicester mess up their exit and Tua wins a great turnover. Slade enters ‘game management’ mode and puts the high bomb up.

Steward leaps and is clattered in the air by Rigg. We’re going to the TMO here...

04:33 PM GMT

Exeter’s second

04:32 PM GMT

62 mins: LEI 14 EXE 15

Exeter have tiurned the tide at scrum time here, with Heyes penalised for collapsing on halfway.

Hodge kicks to the corner and gives the visitors a line-out on the Leicester 22.

04:29 PM GMT

CON HODGE: LEI 14 EXE 15

A lovely strike from Hodge wide on the left and Exeter, incredibly, now lead. What a turnaround.

04:28 PM GMT

TRY WYATT: LEI 14 EXE 13

It’s a second for the wing - from the same move as the Chiefs just ran!

Slade and Wyatt are directly behind the scrum and, when the ball comes out, they dart blind. The fly-half draws Bassett and allows Wyatt to score in the corner. Simple, effective - and deserved.

04:26 PM GMT

57 mins: LEI 14 EXE 8

Wyatt is over from a great Rigg offload but the wing knocks on in goal!

But Van Poortvliet was offside at the scrum so we go back.

Exeter opt to scrum again...

04:23 PM GMT

54 mins: LEI 14 EXE 8

Penalty to Exeter at the line-out as Wells is penalised for jumping across the line-out.

Slade goes to the corner and it’s a great touch-finder. Chiefs’ tails are up here...

Leicester get up to steal but the ball goes over their own five-metre line and they have to touch down.

Exeter will put in, five metres out.

04:21 PM GMT

At Kingsholm...

...Gloucester are leading Sale 22-10.

04:19 PM GMT

Exeter’s try

04:19 PM GMT

50 mins: LEI 14 EXE 8

The Tigers are now under pressure at scrum time, but this the hosts manage to secure possession.

After a bit of kicking tennis, Van Poortvliet puts the ball out on halfway. Chiefs to throw in.

04:16 PM GMT

47 mins: LEI 14 EXE 8

Chiefs launch an attack on halfway but the accuracy is not quite there, with Tua’s pass behind Slade on the warp-around.

The fly-half knocks on and Leicester will put into the scrum.

04:14 PM GMT

45 mins: LEI 14 EXE 8

Cracknell is held up in contact on the edge of the Leicester 22 so Chiefs win the turnover. Exeter have started the better after half-time, no doubt.

And the visitors ring the changes. The whole front row is off along with Hammersley, replaced by Rigg.

The front row’s first job is a big scrum penalty, too!

04:11 PM GMT

MISSED CON SLADE: LEI 14 EXE 8

It was a tough one out wide but Leicester’s lead is now less than a try and conversion.

04:11 PM GMT

TRY WYATT: LEI 14 EXE 8

That’s how to start the half!

Leicester put the pressure on at the breakdown as Exeter go through the phases but it is the vision of Slade which makes this.

The fly-half spots Wyatt in acres put wide and his cross-kick couldn’t have been better, allowing the wing to cross.

04:10 PM GMT

42 mins: LEI 14 EXE 3

The Tigers take Slade’s restart but Steward kicks the ball directly into touch.

Exeter throw in on halfway and they’re building nicely here, with Hammersley throwing a lovely offload to Tua.

Rogerson is on for Liebenberg for Leicester, incidentally.

04:07 PM GMT

The teams are back out at Welford Road

No changes to either side.

04:04 PM GMT

Leicester’s second

03:53 PM GMT

Half-time: LEI 14 EXE 3

Pollard misses on the stroke of half-time. It was not a sitter but one would have expected a player of his calibre to have slotted that.

Still, Leicester take an 11-point lead into half-time, with two tries to Exeter’s none.

This was the exact scoreline from which Leicester came back on the first day of the season...

03:51 PM GMT

40 mins: LEI 14 EXE 3

Bassett is man-handled by Roots and Wimbush in midfield, stripping ther ball in the process, and now Exeter fancy a late push for a try.

But it’s all a little stationary on halfway and Montoya flies over the ball to win a holding-on penalty.

Pollard points to the sticks, from 45 metres out, almost bang in front.

03:49 PM GMT

38 mins: LEI 14 EXE 3

Penalty Leicester - after a wondrous Steward take in the air - as Molina is pinged for not rolling away.

Pollard kicks into the Chiefs 22 for one last go before half time.

03:46 PM GMT

36 mins: LEI 14 EXE 3

Leicester manage to shepherd Exeter into touch - Hodge was a little lateral - and clear from the ensuing line-out.

03:45 PM GMT

35 mins: LEI 14 EXE 3

Oh that’s an error from Leicester. The scrum is solid, Ridley calls ‘use it’, the Tigers don’t, and now the Chiefs will put in just outside the Tigers 22.

03:44 PM GMT

CON POLLARD: LEI 14 EXE 3

Pollard stretches Leicester’s lead to 11.

03:43 PM GMT

TRY HENDERSON: LEI 12 EXE 3

Pollard finds the hole and does brilliantly to keep the ball alive. From the ensuing phase, Henderson picks a nice line and Exeter are too slow to reorganise, with the lock barging over.

03:42 PM GMT

28 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

The officials get it right thanks to a little help from the TMO. Wyatt spills a box-kick and Tua plays the ball immediately from an offside position. Initially it was play on, then a knock-on, and eventually Leicester get the penalty.

Pollard gives the Tigers the line-out on the Chiefs 22.

03:38 PM GMT

28 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

Leicester maul but they cannot make their way over. Liebenberg and Van Poortvliet surge but Exeter’s defence matches them - and the Chiefs strip the ball!

Exeter clear upfield, Wyatt and Frost think they might have a chance retrieving a Chiefs kick but the ball flies forward.

03:36 PM GMT

26 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

Another scrum penalty to Leicester... the Tigers play through the advantage but Exeter defend admirably so we go back for the penalty.

To the corner Pollard goes...

03:33 PM GMT

23 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

Hammersley will not want to watch that again.

Leicester had been building nicely, with Kata punching and Heyes driving, but Fisilau makes a crucial interception - just about onside - and Exeter surive.

But then their wing slices an ugly clearance straight out and the Tigers will throw in inside the Exeter half.

03:30 PM GMT

Leicester’s score

03:30 PM GMT

21 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

Leicester get away with one. They make a mess of the back of the scrum but once again Sio is deemed to have collapsed it so the hosts clear with ease.

03:28 PM GMT

19 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

Sustained pressure from Exeter in the Leicester 22, almost up to 10, very direct phases.

It comes top nothing, however, as with the hosts defending for their lives, Townsend knocks on.

03:25 PM GMT

17 mins: LEI 7 EXE 3

After some kick tennis, Cracknell is penalised for being within 10 metres of Steward and clearing out the ruck.

From inside the Chiefs half, Slade gives his side the line-out inside the Leicester 22.

03:24 PM GMT

Over at Kingsholm...

... Gloucester lead Sale 15-3!

03:23 PM GMT

CON POLLARD: LEI 7 EXE 3

The Springbok adds the extras from bang in front.

03:22 PM GMT

TRY CRACKNELL: LEI 5 EXE 3

Oomph!

Exeter do well to stave off Leicester at scrum time but Cracknell explodes off the base, beats Vermeulen round the corner, thunders into Slade and manages to dot the ball down over the line. A punchy finish.

03:21 PM GMT

13 mins: LEI 0 EXE 3

A silky first-phase move gets Steward and then Hassell-Collins on the outside of the Exeter defence.

Leicester keep it tight five metres out but just cannot quite get over. We go back for a penalty under the sticks for, I think, Frost offside.

The Tigers opt to scrum...

03:18 PM GMT

11 mins: LEI 0 EXE 3

The good and bad of Exeter there.

A wonderful defensive set has the Tigers attack all at sea, forcing them to retreat and box-kick.

But from Van Poortvliet’s clearance, Kelly gets over the ball to win a jackal penalty.

Pollard to the corner. And Leicester’s last maul was... punchy.

03:15 PM GMT

8 mins: LEI 0 EXE 3

Scrum penalty Leicester!

Exeter locked out but the Tigers got the secondary shove on and that does not bode well for the Chiefs in the first scrum of the game.

Pollard kicks up to halfway and the hosts will throw in.

03:12 PM GMT

7 mins: LEI 0 EXE 3

Sloppy from both sides! Knock-ons, wayward passes - but ultimately danger for Leicester as the hosts are caught napping with the ball in touch. Hodge and Hammersley look to counter but the ball goes forward and Tigers will put in on their own 22.

03:11 PM GMT

6 mins: LEI 0 EXE 3

All Exeter currently, but after a brief dalliance on halfway Townsend opts to put boot to ball.

It’s straight out, however, and Leicester will throw in just inside their own half.

03:08 PM GMT

PEN SLADE: LEI 0 EXE 3

Slade does not miss those and the visitors have an early lead.

03:08 PM GMT

3 mins: LEI 0 EXE 0

Exeter rattle through some phases on the Tigers 22, with Fisilau and Wimbush prominent in the carry.

Montoya is penalised for hands in the ruck, however, and Slade will have an early sighter at the posts.

03:07 PM GMT

2 mins: LEI 0 EXE 0

An early penalty to Exeter as Van Poortvliet is adjudged to have impeded a kick-chaser. Slade kicks up to halfway and Chiefs throw in.

Frost breaks! The hooker chips ahead but Steward is there to clear up and kick to touch.

03:05 PM GMT

Kick-off!

Pollard gets us under way!

03:03 PM GMT

Here come the sides...

Smoke on the Water is ramping up. Exeter are out.

Kick-off is next!

03:01 PM GMT

Gloucester v Sale

That’s about to kick-off at Kingsholm. I’ll sporadically try and keep you up to date with the score from the Welford Road press box.

02:59 PM GMT

Today’s referee

Mr Christophe Ridley will take charge this afternoon. Craig Maxwell-Keys and John Meredith are Ridley’s assistants while Peter Allan is the TMO.

02:55 PM GMT

Who’s your winner?

Let me know in the comments!

02:48 PM GMT

A weather update from Mattioli Woods Welford Road...

... two pairs of socks were nowhere near enough. More follows.

02:45 PM GMT

Rob Baxter issues Immanuel Feyi-Waboso update to BBC Radio Devon

02:39 PM GMT

The last time these two teams met...

There was no shortage of drama, that’s for sure. In Michael Cheika’s first Leicester match, the Tigers overturned a 14-3 deficit to emerge victors at Sandy Park in the opening match of the Premiership season.

There was also - now quite infamously - a falling-out between Cheika and the independent matchday doctor, which led to a two-match ban (one suspended) for the Australian.

02:31 PM GMT

ICYMI

Last night, as well as a 17-year-old becoming champion of the darting world, Harlequins went to Newcastle in sub-zero temperatures and put the Falcons to the sword.

You can read more about Quins’ 38-14 victory by clicking here.

02:26 PM GMT

Today’s line-ups!

So those two changes: Bassett and Wells come in for Brown and Martin for the Tigers, while Wimbush and Molina start for Exeter.

Leicester: F Steward; J Bassett, D Kelly, S Kata, O Hassell-Collins; H Pollard, J van Poortvliet; N Smith, J Montoya (c), J Heyes, C Henderson, H Wells, H Liebenberg, T Reffell, O Cracknell. 
Replacements: Clare, Whitcombe, Cole, Holloway, Rogerson, Youngs, Shillcock, Woodward.

Exeter: J Hodge; B Hammersley, Z Wimbush, T Tua, T Wyatt; H Slade, S Townsend; S Sio, D Frost, M Street, D Jenkins (c), F Molina, E Roots, J Vermeulen, G Fisilau. 
Replacements: Innard, Goodrick-Clarke, Iosefa-Scott, Tuima, Capstick, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, Rigg.

02:22 PM GMT

Good afternoon!

Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of today’s Premiership match between Leicester and Exeter at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

If anyone in Leicester or its environs has any spare thermals, then please bring them to Welford Road, knock on the press box door and ask for the bearded idiot who left his at home (yes, that is yours truly).

Temperature at kick-off is looking to be around one degree but the pitch is perfectly playable, with the Tigers’ ground staff having busted a gut, erecting a tent overnight to keep the surface warm. The bad news for those attending, however, is that there are signs up in the bars around the ground saying that, owing to the nationwide shortage, Welford Road could run out of Guinness at any moment. Enforced Dry January!

Anyway, back to the rugby. Leicester are currently flirting with the top four but are winless in their previous three Premiership matches, having earned a last-gasp, bonus-point draw last week against Harlequins at Twickenham. Until last weekend, Exeter were yet to taste victory this season either domestically or against Europe but that all changed with a win over Gloucester at Sandy Park. “Better than sex,” was how Henry Slade described it. With the Baltic conditions at Welford Road today, should Exeter earn a second successive victory, I’m not sure that Slade will be offering up the same illustration post match...

With a Premiership pause for Europe over the next fortnight, this weekend serves up a crucial round of league fixtures. Leicester could end the weekend in the top four with victory; while the Chiefs can prove that last weekend’s victory over Gloucester, which kick-started their season, was no anomaly.

Two changes to either side from last weekend’s respective draw and victory - and all the team news is next!