DEMONS SLADE
Henry helps banish finals nightmare for the Chiefs
19 Wasps 13 ENGLAND star Henry Slade banished the ghost of Exeter’s Twickenham past to bring double delight to Devon.
A week after his try helped Chiefs become European champions, Slade scored another beauty as Exeter became just the fourth English club to win the Premiership and Champions Cup in the same season.
The pain of three defeats in the last four Premiership finals was washed away in a monsoon as Rob Baxter’s side overcame a late scare to seal the deal.
“This feels so good after our previous years of heartache in finals,” said an emotional Slade.
“For the last few weeks to go as well as they have is just unreal.”
The classy centre had dreamed of this moment since last year’s final when Exeter coughed up an 11-point lead to Saracens after his try had put them firmly in the box seat.
That was an altogether different occasion, a 10- try spectacle played in glorious June sunshine in front of a bumper crowd.
Here it rained throughout, with player voices echoing around the empty arena as the contest raged predominantly between the two 22s.
Wasps will rue their late decision to go for the corner instead of the posts and blew the chance of extra-time.
Had Gabriel Oghre’s throw not been intercepted on the Exeter line they might even have won their first title since 2008.
How sweet that would have been given they lost four players to coronavirus and had the best part of a week of sleepless nights wondering whether they would even be allowed to play.
Typical of a club with such a rich tradition of defying the odds that they used that adversity to fuel their title tilt.
It produced a wonderful first- half try for young fly- half Jacob Umaga, pouncing on a mistake by Jonny Hill in jumping out of the defensive line to dance into the hole and away for the try. That
GOING OVER Henry Slade of Exeter Chiefs scores his team’s try put Wasps ahead but it was short-lived as Joe Simmonds levelled five minutes later. The Chiefs young captain was just getting going and as the weather deteriorated further slotted two late kicks to settle the issue.
Few will begrudge Exeter their success given that two of the three finals they lost went to a Saracens team later found to have cheated the salary cap.
“We’ve learned from losing finals,” said Simmonds, who extended his remarkable goalkicking streak to 33.
“The boys worked so hard for these opportunities and over the past eight days we have taken them.”
Having been unable to celebrate their European win due to this game, Exeter headed back west in high spirits.
The only downer came with confirmation that Jack Nowell requires an operation to repair ruptured ligaments in his foot and will miss England’s Six Nations finale in Italy next Saturday.
This feels so good after our previous years of heartache in finals