Sandy Park falls: Bristol Bears complete Prem double over Exeter Chiefs

Bristol Bears completed the Prem double over Exeter Chiefs with an 8-3 victory in a real war of attrition at Sandy Park.

It was a win the Bears deserved as they inflicted a first home defeat of the season on the Devonians.

Their success was based on an excellent defensive effort in a game that was always going to be a low-scoring affair due to the weather.

The first half was played in very difficult wet and windy conditions, with Bristol enjoying the elements behind their backs in the opening 40 minutes.

It was a half of numerous set pieces, kicking for territory, knock-ons and spilt passes as both sides struggled to come to grips with the greasy ball.

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Exeter Chiefs

3 - 8

Full-time

Bristol

All Stats and Data

Exeter suffered an early blow with an injury to Australia international flanker Tom Hooper, and it was Bristol who had the first opportunity to break the stalemate in the 17th minute, but Scotland fly-half Tom Jordan missed a kickable 35-metre penalty.

Exeter were finding it difficult kicking into the wind out of hand, with Henry Slade, Harvey Skinner and Charlie Chapman all making errors.

However, England centre Slade did find the target with a penalty just before the half-hour mark after Bristol played the scrum-half at a breakdown just outside their own 22.

The game’s opening try, if it came at all, was likely to arrive via a mistake, and so it proved.

A huge swirling kick by Jordan was spilt backwards by Exeter full-back Olly Woodburn, and Slade was left with no option but to carry the ball over his own line.

Bristol won the subsequent five-metre scrum, and Wales international Louis Rees-Zammit switched play to send winger Noah Heward over in the corner to give the Bears a 5-3 interval lead.

Sunshine greeted the start of the second half and Bristol immediately came under intense pressure on their own line, but the Bears defended superbly to eventually earn themselves a penalty and clear the danger.

Slade had a chance to put the Chiefs ahead from a scrum penalty after 53 minutes but missed the 50-metre kick, and even though the hosts continued to dominate territory, they just could not breach the visitors’ defence and rarely looked like scoring a try, with their play often too predictable and lacking a real cutting edge.

On a very rare entry into the Chiefs half, Bristol secured a penalty at the breakdown, and replacement fly-half James Williams slotted the simple kick to put the Bears 8-3 up with 90 seconds remaining.

There was time for Exeter to restart, but the Bears ran the clock down and secured a win that lifted them above the Chiefs into third place in the Prem table with 10 of the 18 rounds completed.