Ethan Roots Caps Action back to Send Exeter into Champions

When a gust of wind, bending a flagpole, blows from the exe estuary, rugby becomes another game. It felt like a”10-point wind” in terms of the first-half lead that Exeter ideally would have liked, and when the hosts were trailing 12-7 in the meantime, their fate seemed sealed. That was it for this alleged theory, when the Chiefs organized a meteoric rise to the round of eight of this constantly fluctuating Champions Cup campaign.

Bath will kick themselves after being dominated 14-3 with the elements at the back. At the very moment when they had to turn the screw, their composure let them down more and more as Exeter’s self-confidence grew. If it didn’t help the Visitors tactically when their star opening half Finn Russell departed with an early groin health issue, it was a game his remaining colleagues really should have finished.

With Cam Redpath and Ted Hill, author of a remarkable 50m solo attempt, also leaving early, bath director of rugby Johann van Graan admitted his team was “incredibly disappointed,” but his Exeter counterpart Rob Baxter felt his team fully deserved a win as they prepare for a quarter-final against Toulouse or Racing 92.

“We had the full commitment to be bodily in the game from the first minute and we built the game from there,” Baxter said. “It would have been easy for them to think at half-time that they had not done enough. But we had worked on them so much that I told the guys that there would be chances in the second half. I hope you learned today that the things you do from the very starting add up and you can win the game.”

This led to a saw competition from the first to the last. Bath, who had initially opted for the wind, lost their hooker Tom Dunn to the bin within five minutes for a high tackle, and Russell lasted only 15 minutes. However, Exeter could not transfer its early territorial advantage to the scoreboard, and the wind-assisted timer turned.

So it seemed like a significant development when Bath went up the field and their dominant maul scored a score for Thomas du Toit. Or at least it was until Alfie Barbeary evaded the resulting relaunch and Exeter’s speedy Ross Vintcent picked up the inviting loose ball to provide an immediate response.

However, Bath was ready to enjoy his own bonus. The ball went into the swirling sky before falling on the center line right into Hill’s arms. The big flanker jumped up and showed an extraordinary pace, and no one came close to him.

Initially, Exeter was far from being so clinical. Man of the Match Manny Feyi-Waboso repeatedly caused defensive anxiety, but on half a dozen occasions the Chiefs could not find a way to get the ball over the line. With kicks, either to the goal or diagonally to the corners, which were also fraught with harmful, it seemed as if bath’s solid mouth, failed expertise and robust defense would ensure them a first Champions Cup quarter-final for nine years.