Exeter see off Wasps to claim trophy
Exter Chiefs beat Wasps 19-13 to secure the Premiership final.
Both sides adopted safetyfirst tactics at Twickenahm in wet and blustery conditions, but Wasps shaded the initial territory battle.
Wasps playmakers Jacob Umaga and Jimmy Gopperth looked to make their presence felt and 37-year-old Gopperth kicked a 13th-minute penalty, making him the oldest pointsscorer in a Premiership final.
But Exeter responded brilliantly just five minutes later when Chiefs’ England centre Henry Slade beat three defenders on a 30-metre run and claimed an outstanding try that skipper Joe Simmonds converted.
But the Chiefs were stung by an outstanding Wasps score as scrum-half Dan Robson created room for Umaga, who darted through Exeter’s defence and rounded fullback Stuart Hogg to score a try that matched Slade’s individual effort.
Gopperth’s conversion put Wasps 10-7 ahead, only for a Simmonds penalty to tie things up.
And Simmonds’ second successful penalty edged Exeter into a 13-10 interval lead.
Exeter boss Rob Baxter and his Wasps counterpart Lee Blackett began to ring the changes, and the Chiefs maintained their narrow advantage before Gopperth booted a 59th-minute penalty that made it 13-13.
Simmonds’ third successful penalty nudged Exeter back in front with 14 minutes left, and Slade then launched a superb touch-finder to take the Chiefs forwards just five metres from Wasps’ line.
It was now a survival of the fittest as Exeter moved within touching distance of achieving a double prize only won by three other English clubs in Leicester, Wasps and Saracens.
Wasps blew an attacking lineout chance five minutes from time when hooker Gabriel Oghre threw the ball straight to Chiefs’ Scotland international lock Jonny Gray.
And Exeter closed out the final through another Simmonds penalty in the 80th minute, securing a 19-13 victory and their second Premiership title in four seasons.