Henry Slade was in raptures after Exeter prevented Bath from crossing the line after multiple phases to clinch the semi-final by one point. For the first time since the greatest game in Premiership history, the away team have won a playoff. This might not have been a comeback to match that of Harlequins at Bristol in 2021, but Exeter looked every bit as dead and buried at half-time. And then a new team took to the field for the second half.
And so we will have a new champion. Bath had so dominated the first half, their lead was the least they might have expected. But in the second half, they looked utterly bewildered, like a golfer who just cannot understand why he can no longer hit the ball straight. Where they had once smashed through collisions, they were now staggering off rampant Exeter runners. Same sport, apparently – they just could not play it any more.
Bath's Dominant First Half
If rugby matches were won by sheer force of will (and they quite often are), Bath would have been out of sight by half-time. As it is, they led by 26-10 at the break, which is something to be getting on with, four tries to one. But the Chiefs were subjected to a form of full-frontal assault for almost the entirety of the first half.
Exeter did well to turn round as close as they did. The visitors crossed the line three times themselves in that period, Campbell Ridl the first to do so of the match, in only the third minute, but Henry Slade's long pass to him was clearly forward. Slade was over himself 20 minutes later, but Greg Fisilau could not quite slip his reverse flick away before his foot clipped the touchline after Paul Brown-Bampoe's run down the right.
When Exeter did cross legitimately, another couple of minutes later, it was spectacular, Christ Tshiunza galloping through Bath's midfield, then stepping his way round Carreras as if he were a winger, not the 6ft 6in flanker-cum-lock he really is.
Alas, in between Slade's contributions there, he spent 10 minutes in the bin, when Bath started to build a lead. Roared on by a Rec bathed in splendid sunshine, it was virtually non-stop attack. Bath's set piece was dominant, Alfie Barbeary was scattering defenders, the midfield subtlety and power in perfect balance. The tries followed inevitably.
Exeter's Second-Half Resurgence
When the shift in momentum happened, it was spectacular. Exeter changed their entire front row and in so doing changed everything. Ben Hammersley was over for the first of their three unanswered tries, 17 points unanswered. Then, just shy of the hour, a Skinner break sent the suddenly ferocious Fisilau to a couple of metres short, felled by a brilliant Josh Bayliss tackle. No matter, Fisilau sprang to his feet and forced his way over a couple of phases later.
A particularly harsh yellow card for Cokanasiga, who had every chance of intercepting, at the start of the final quarter was preceded by a try of brute force again, this one for Ethan Burger, one of the supersubs in Exeter's front row. Comeback consummated.
They mounted one last attack, picking and going, picking and going. Bath had not been awarded a single penalty in the second half. The referee was not going to start then. How they could have done with Finn Russell to land a drop goal, but the Scotland fly-half had not quite recovered. Santi Carreras is a genius, but he has played only occasionally at fly-half this season and he never called for it. Bath could have whipped the ball wide, where Joe Cokanasiga waited in acres, but they kept it close, their confidence shot, and the Chiefs held them up to herald the final whistle.
Looking Ahead
The Chiefs have never lost a playoff. Now, against Northampton at Twickenham next weekend, they have a chance to become the first team to win the Prem from third place. We have seen everything else. Why not?
