After a fourth loss in a row, Rob Baxter’s expression at full-time – equal parts thunder and disbelief – required no translation. Having led 32-12 with 15 minutes remaining, his Exeter Chiefs had just capitulated in astonishing style against free-wheeling Bristol Bears.

Asked after the game if he felt any vulnerability in his role given the run of poor form, a candid Baxter said: “I don’t feel any more pressure now than I have done in this job. I always feel responsible for what goes on out there. This sometimes can be the best test of a rugby club.

“Every year in the first five or six I was in charge here people would say things are going pretty positively. What’s your next big challenge – getting into the top four, winning a final? There is only one big challenge that’s going to happen to this club is when we lose our first four or five Premiership games. That’s a way bigger challenge than getting into the top four or finals.

“This is our challenge now. We either face it, get better and come through it or it compounds into bigger issues.”

Bristol had found an extraordinary way to win to go top of the Premiership table here.

But even the madcap scoreline, a share of 75 points, does not do justice to the wild ending of this game. After eye-catching braces from Paul Brown-Bampoe and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Bristol seemed set to relinquish a run of seven consecutive away victories in the league. Instead, a sequence that began last December stretches on.

“What a frustrating game,” Baxter went on. “We’re going to have to take responsibility for our actions. We’ve got players putting their heads in the sand a little bit, running around saying: ‘Not me, someone else do something.’ The first major moment that goes against us, a charged-down box-kick, turned into a yellow card and we couldn’t recover.”

It was Dan Frost who was sin-binned for refusing to give up the ball at a penalty in his own 22 and the Bears promptly ran riot. Gabriel Oghre tore 40 metres up the middle before Gabriel Ibitoye plundered two tries in as many minutes. Bristol’s hallmark is to run back restarts and they repeated that party trick against shell-shocked opponents.

Players must have a good reason to boot the ball clear under Pat Lam. He prefers his teams to shift it to space, and the visitors put on a masterclass in this regard. AJ MacGinty broke and hit a sweet kick-pass for Ibitoye’s first and Benhard Janse van Rensburg scrambled away from a messy ruck to lay on number two. Ibitoye outstripped Will Goodrick-Clarke and then dumbfounded Harvey Skinner with some fabulous footwork to put Bristol 33-32 up.

A Josh Hodge penalty reclaimed a skinny advantage for Chiefs, but Ibitoye had a hat-trick after Harry Randall, who had come off the bench with England colleague Ellis Genge, scampered down the short side. Baxter took aim at Hodge’s overenthusiastic defending.

“I can’t believe our last try. Our widest guy comes off his wing to counter-ruck when it’s already dead and they walk it down the wing. I’m not going to say I’m in shock, but I am looking at it going: ‘What are you thinking?’”

A lack of leadership told for Exeter. They carved out one more chance after kicking a penalty to the corner. But Bristol held out.

Lam described victory in Bath as a statement. Given injuries to Max Malins and James Williams, this was just as stirring. “The way we’re playing is good for the game and good for the Premiership.

“We were making a few mistakes, which was to be expected, but we just said to stick at it. I looked at the clock at one point and thought: ‘How much are we down by? Twenty points? We can do that easy.’ And I think we did it in eight minutes.”

Match details

Scoring: 3-0 Hodge penalty, 3-5 Marmion try, 8-5 Brown-Bampoe try, 8-10 Batley try, 8-12 MacGinty conversion, 13-12 Feyi-Waboso try, 15-12 Hodge conversion, 18-12 Hodge penalty, 23-12 Brown-Bampoe try, 25-12 Hodge conversion, 30-12 Feyi-Waboso try, 32-12 Hodge conversion, 32-17 Oghre try, 32-19 MacGinty conversion, 32-24 Ibitoye try, 32-26 MacGinty conversion, 32-31 Ibitoye try, 32-33 MacGinty conversion, 35-33 Hodge penalty, 35-38 Ibitoye try, 35-40 MacGinty conversion.

Exeter Chiefs: J Hodge; I Feyi-Waboso, O Woodburn, J Hawkins (B Hammersley 65), P Brown-Bampoe, H Skinner (B Hammersley 26-39), S Maunder (T Cairns 56); S Sio (W Goodrick-Clarke 50), J Yeandle (D Frost 50), M Street (J Iosefa-Scott 40), R Tuima, F Molina (J Dunne 60, Yeandle 74), J Vermeulen (E Roots 50), R Capstick, R Vintcent (G Fisilau 68).
Sin bin Frost 65.

Bristol Bears: R Lane (B Elizalde 61); J Bates, J Jenkins, B Janse van Rensburg, G Ibitoye; AJ MacGinty, K Marmion (H Randall 50); J Woolmore (E Genge 50), G Oghre, M Lahiff (G Kolska 61), J Caulfield, J Batley, S Luatua (J Dun 40, B Grondona 56), S Grondona, F Harding.
Replacement not used: S Worsley Sin bin: Caulfield 16.

Referee: Mr M Carley (RFU). Attendance: 11,643