Diamond let down after fine first half
SALE boss Steve Diamond reckoned his side could have won after going 19-5 up in the first half.
He admitted: “I’m a bit disappointed by the result but we had a blip against Northampton three weeks ago when we didn’t turn up so I expected a performance today and we delivered really.
“We could have got the win but I’m reasonably happy with a bonus point to be honest.”
He acknowledged that Luke Cowan-Dickie’s try just before half-time, which cut Exeter’s deficit to seven points after playing into the strong wind was the turning point.
Diamond said: “They are a good side and they take their chances.
“Having said that, we stopped them playing quite a lot of rugby – in a positive way. Our defence was good, our lineout defence was good and they had to think outside the box.”
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter said: “Sale have filled a big part of that game and made it very difficult for us to play the way we wanted to play.”