'What a nudge': Henry Slade punishes Cardiff with 'extraordinary' touchfinder

Henry Slade produced one of the moments of the afternoon at Sandy Park, nailing a brilliant penalty touchfinder that helped put daylight between Exeter Chiefs and Cardiff in their final pool match of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

With Exeter already 14–0 up, Slade stepped up from inside his own half and delivered a 60 metre kick that was as precise as it was ruthless, arcing perfectly into the right corner.

“That’s an extraordinary kick,” said the Premier Sports commentary team. “Goodness me, what a nudge”.

The ensuing lineout was secured cleanly and the Chiefs’ maul did the rest, rumbling forward before hooker Joseph Dweba peeled off the back to score.

One kick, seven points, message sent.

“Goodness me, what a nudge!” 🎙️

That is a massive kick from Henry Slade to help @ExeterChiefs pin Cardiff back in the corner, and set up the Joseph Dweba try that followed 👏#ChallengeCupRugby pic.twitter.com/cI6l5hjvys

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) January 18, 2026

It was the kind of moment that Chiefs’ DoR Rob Baxter had been looking to sharpen after last weekend, when discipline and set-piece detail had been flagged as areas for improvement following the defeat to Stade Français.

The outside centre’s intervention and the forwards’ subsequent catch and drive ticked both boxes.

Pre-match, Baxter had stressed the importance of the occasion, with Exeter eyeing a favourable knockout draw and the value of home advantage front of mind. “We’ve looked at the areas of our game we can address to be better in following on from our performance against Stade Francais, things like discipline and different areas around our set piece, to get us back on track,” he said.