The perils of going too early. We should know by now that no game in this competition is ever dead until it is dead, so common is the comeback these days. But when Bath, league leaders, had the bonus point by the half-hour mark – and a 26-10 lead to go with it – we did assume they were home and hosed.
All the more so, given Exeter’s low levels of confidence, not to mention their low position in the table, with only Newcastle below them. But the Chiefs would not let matters lie. Inspired by Paul Brown-Bampoe on the wing, they denied their high-flying visitors any points at all in the second half. Brown-Bampoe’s double in the third quarter pulled them back to within two points by the hour mark. Bath managed to hold out in a nervy final quarter.
“It’s never done till it’s done,” said Johann van Graan, Bath’s head of rugby. “Loads to work on for us, but I’ll take a five-point win away from home.”
Whether the go-too-early formula will apply to their quest for a first Premiership title of the professional era remains to be seen. This win moves them 15 points clear at the top. They are not quite guaranteed a playoff spot, but with Newcastle visiting the Rec next Saturday, that surely is only a matter of time. Of more immediate concern is an injury to Max Ojomoh, whose departure in the second half meant Louis Schreuder, a Springbok scrum-half, played on the wing.
But Bath are bursting with options, showing them off here by fielding a completely different pack from that which did for Gloucester last Sunday in the Challenge Cup. Maybe that annoyed Exeter, but it may also have irritated some of those in attendance.
Tom Curry staked a claim for this summer’s Lions tour with a powerful carrying and try-scoring display in Sale’s impressive 43-29 bonus-point win against Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop. The 26-year-old flanker grabbed a brace as Alex Sanderson’s visitors climbed into the Premiership’s top four and dealt Quins’ own title aspirations what could prove a terminal blow.
This time last year Curry was recovering from hip surgery which was required to keep his future club and international ambitions alive. Now, having returned with typical determination, strength and aggression in the autumn and enjoyed a fine Six Nations, the England man hopes to persuade Andy Farrell he deserves a place on the Lions' plane to Australia.
"These are boys you have to protect for themselves," said Sanderson. "He and the likes of Cowan-Dickie are pushing for Lions honours and they richly deserve it if you're just going on that game.
"They are naming the squad soon for Australia but you'd like to think Tom will have a chance.
"We have a great pack. Asher Opoku-Fordjour was outstanding too. He's so powerful. That will set him apart from other tightheads. But you still have to do the bread and butter in mauling and scrummaging."
Curry, part of the courageous touring party to New Zealand in 2021, was a cornerstone upon which Sharks built a title-boosting victory in west London. The Sharks scrum-half Raffi Quirke came off the bench for his first appearance since January.
Quins had another England man, Cadan Murley, back in their side.
Sadly for him and his teammates, they were outfought and outplayed by a hungry Sharks side which carved out a 26-15 half-time lead and had the try bonus point firmly wrapped up. PA Media
Andy Farrell was watching, perhaps less as Lions coach, more on a little jaunt up the A38 from the family holiday home in South Devon. All the same, he will have been most interested in the performance of Finn Russell. At times, Bath’s fly-half played as imperiously as ever, his sleight of hand releasing runners right, left and centre into the tenderest parts of Exeter’s defence. At others, he was loose and struggled as much as any in Bath ranks to regain control as the game threatened to slip away.
After an opening quarter of only limited coherence, when Exeter took the lead twice, either side of a penalty try for Bath, the visitors found their pitch in a devastating five-minute spell when they scored three tries to register the bonus point. Russell’s hands featured in the buildup to the first two of those, their second and third overall.
Neil Annett finished a lineout and drive for the first, after Tom de Glanville went close. Three minutes later, from a scrum on halfway, Russell featured again, twice, in the sweeping move that ended with Josh Bayliss’s try. Two minutes later again, Bayliss was galloping off from Cameron Redpath’s inside ball, and Ben Spencer’s brilliant pass on the run released Will Muir to the line.
The England hooker Theo Dan scored two tries as a dominant second-half display from Saracens saw them beat Gloucester 36-14 and move up to fourth in the Premiership.
Sarries had to come back from a 14-12 half-time deficit at the StoneX Stadium and barely gave their fellow play-off chasers a sniff after the break as they leapfrogged them in the table.
The six-time champions are now three points clear of the Cherry and Whites, although Leicester have a chance to move into the top four themselves should they defeat Bristol on Sunday. PA Media
Home and hosed? Not quite. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is one of a few Exeter players injured, but Brown-Bampoe could yet interest Steve Borthwick as he casts around for candidates for England’s summer tour to Argentina. The winger finished a deadly counterattack, featuring a Josh Hodge break, 10 minutes into the second half. On the hour he finished after a break of his own, following up to accept Henry Slade’s offload out of a tackle.
That set up those nervy final stages. Bath held out. Job done, they will say. But they know only too well that early leads count for little in this competition.
