Exeter Chiefs’ play-off dreams now hang by the thinnest of threads after suffering their first ever loss at Ashton Gate as Bristol Bears defeated them 40-33 on Friday night.
The hosts strode to victory thanks to tries from Callum Sheedy, Charles Piutau’s brace, Alapati Leiua - scoring on his final appearance at Ashton Gate before moving to France in the summer, Toby Fricker and Luke Morahan.
Along with Leuia, John Afoa and Dave Attwood were also making their final Ashton Gate appearances in Bristol Bears colours, getting a dreamy send-off before they move on to their new clubs.
Chiefs put up a good fight with scores from Santiago Grondona, Josh Hodge, James Kenny and Olly Woodburn making it a more than a competitive contest but were second best for most of the game.
After a slow opening quarter in which neither side managed to stamp their authority on the other, the hosts broke through when Harry Randall showed his class and intelligence by utilising a tap and go to break clear and pass inside to Callum Sheedy as Josh Hodge approached for an easy score.
Chiefs responded as Santiago Grondona’s short drive from the base of the ruck saw him overpower Chris Vui to level the scores.
Pat Lam’s men were next to get points on the board as the sides traded blows, when following drives from Vui and Steven Luatua got Bears heading towards the right, Piutau found himself as the first receiver, opting to switch directions and use his explosive feet to finish under the posts.
Exeter got the final try of the half, using quick hands to ship the ball to the right and outpace Bristol’s drift defence, with Hodge the final receiver and scorer on the right.
Bristol were faster out the blocks following the interval as Piutau grabbed his second by finding a gap in the defensive line with Sheedy’s pass putting it on a plate for him.
The Bears continued the march forward, as Sheedy broke before filthily pulling off a blind inside flick to Alapati Leiua, who did well to finish past Joe Simmonds for a crowd-pleasing try in his final appearance at Ashton Gate.
Just as proceedings were firmly in the host’s control, they were reduced to 14-men as Jack Bates was yellow carded after making connection with Jacques Vermeulen’s head in a tackle.
Chiefs were quick to take advantage, as James Kenny hit a great line just to the left of the ruck to find a gap between tacklers to score from metres out.
Scores were levelled with some trademark running rugby from Exeter, as Henry Slade popped outside to Olly Woodburn who magnificently managed to reach for the try line despite a challenge.
With seconds remaining on Bates’ sin binning, Fricker crucially read Slade’s pass to intercept and sprint over from the half-way line for the score.
Silky backs play extended Bears’ lead, as a false line from Jack Bates fooled the Exeter defensive line to allow Luke Morahan to touch down in the corner from an arcing pass from Ioan Lloyd.
A consolation, but perhaps meaningful try secured Chiefs’ second bonus point, as Dave Ewers drive from short range brought the gap to 7 points, meaning mathematically they are still in the play-off chase, but will need several fixtures to specifically go their way.
Exeter will be hoping their play-off hopes will still be alive when they host Harlequins at Sandy Park in two weeks' time on the final day of the season, although it must be emphasised this eventuality is significantly unlikely.
Bristol meanwhile will visit the AJ Bell for a clash with Sale Sharks, seeking to end their season on a high.
Bristol Bears: 15. Charles Piutau, 14. Luke Morahan, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Alapati Leiua, 11. Toby Fricker, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Harry Randall; 1. Jake Woolmore, 2. Harry Thacker 3. John Afoa, 4. Dave Attwood, 5. Joe Joyce, 6. Chris Vui, 7. Sam Jeffries, 8. Steven Luatua (c).
Replacements: 16. Bryan Byrne, 17. Jono Benz-Salomon, 18. Jake Armstrong, 19. Fitz Harding, 20. Dan Thomas, 21. Andy Uren, 22. Ioan Lloyd, 23. Jack Bates.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Josh Hodge, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Sam Maunder; 1 Alec Hepburn, 2 Jack Yeandle (capt), 3 Harry Williams, 4 Jonny Gray, 5 Sam Skinner, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 8 Jacques Vermeulen.
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 James Kenny, 18 Patrick Schickerling, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Tom Hendrickson
