Saints 14 Chiefs 35
Northampton Saints 14
Exeter Chiefs 35
Mark Stevens at Franklin’s Gardens
Santa Claus isn’t due for another 24 hours yet, but Christmas certainly came early for Exeter Chiefs as they extended their lead at the top of the Aviva Premiership with victory at Northampton Saints.
Jack Yeandle’s try - with the very last play of the match - ensured it was rich rewards for Rob Baxter’s side as they emerged with another maximum haul from their efforts at Franklin’s Gardens.
The hooker’s late touchdown came after team-mates Will Chudley, Sam Simmonds and Thomas Waldrom had earlier found their way over the whitewash for the defending champions.
Gareth Steenson and Joe Simmonds weighed in with the remaining points for the Devonians, who will now be looking to wrap up what has been a memorable 2017 with victory over Leicester Tigers at Sandy Park on New Year’s Eve.
Returning to top flight action after a fortnight of European Champions Cup action, the Chiefs arrived in the East Midlands looking to not only re-affirm their position at the top of the table, but inflict further misery on the Saints, who had won just once in their last ten fixtures.
Ahead of kick-off, Baxter made a handful of changes to his side from that which took to the field in Dublin the previous week. Into the pack came Harry Williams, Jonny Hill and Dave Ewers, while behind Chudley and Sam Hill were also included from the outset.
For Ewers and Chudley it marked first Premiership starts of the season, while Hill’s inclusion meant Henry Slade was repositioned into the full-back role with Phil Dollman and Lachie Turner ruled out through injury.
The Saints, with interim head coach Alan Dickens in charge for the first time since the axing of Jim Mallinder, welcomed back England trio Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Luther Burrell into their starting XV, having sat out last weekend’s European defeat at the Ospreys.
It was, however, the defending champions who were first to show in a strength-sapping opening blast. Six minutes of non-stop action saw the Chiefs work their way down field and into the home 22, the fruits of which yielded an early penalty that Steenson slotted with ease.
The Saints looked to counter immediately from the restart as some swift hands created space for Harry Mallinder, who drew in the Exeter cover to feed Ahsee Tuala. However, as the winger looked to step back inside, he was met by both Steenson and Olly Woodburn, who together bundled the Samoan into touch.
With the home threat averted on this occasion, the Chiefs then showed their rivals how it should be done, claiming the game’s opening try on 12 minutes. Positioned midway inside the Northampton half with a scrum, Chudley - playing off the advantage of a penalty - sniped from the back of the set-piece, chipped over the top of the home defence, then won the subsequent sprint race to the line to make it 8-0.
Minutes later and Baxter’s side could have added to their tally as great turnover work from Luke Cowan-Dickie allowed the Chiefs to counter through Hill and Slade, the latter offloading to Woodburn, who with only Mallinder in front of him, propelled himself towards the line.
As Woodburn closed in on the score, however, the hosts scrambled sufficiently and somehow did enough to push the former Bath flyer into touch just yards from the home line.
Undeterred, the Chiefs threatened again shortly after when a dropped pass from Mallinder allowed Whitten to pounce on the loose ball in midfield. The Ulsterman fly-hacked the ball forward towards the try-line, but in the foot race that followed, it was former England international Ben Foden who came to the home side’s rescue, touching down as Whitten and Co closed in on the score.
The Saints were living dangerously, but in a rare foray forward, they stung the Chiefs with a slick training ground move that yielded a try for Tuala. Quick hands within the back division created time and space for Aussie centre Rob Horne to ship the pass to his team-mate who applied the finish in the corner. Francis converted with a sublime kick from the right touchline.
That would one of few key highlights for the Saints on a day when they were evidently second best. Steenson slotted a second penalty just before the break to put the Chiefs four points to the good at the interval.
HALF TIME NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 7 EXETER CHIEFS 11
After all the recent upheaval at the Gardens, the Saints would have happily taken the one score deficit heading into the second period. Equally, the Chiefs were content enough, knowing they had another big 40 minutes in them.
On the resumption, though, it was the Chiefs who again started the brighter, extending their lead inside three minutes with another Steenson penalty, given on this occasion after the home side were penalised for not rolling away at the tackle.
A converted score in front, so Baxter’s men started to flex their muscles - particularly up front - where the forwards were tightening their grip with every set-piece.
With momentum gathering by the minute, the Saints were doing their best to repel the Exeter advance. Initially they did well enough, putting up a stubborn rearguard action, but on 57 minutes the intentional actions of Foden trying to stop a certain try saw him banished to the sidelines for a ten-minute spell.
Up a man, the Chiefs wasted little time in making their numerical advantage pay dividends. A penalty to the corner saw the ‘Men in White’ lay the line-out platform from which Armand took the throw, his fellow pack members assembled around him, and over burrowed Sam Simmonds over for the converted try.
The natives did their best to try and awaken the Saints from their slumber, but it was to no avail and it was the visitors who hammered home their superiority late on. A succession of five-metre scrums saw Exeter win a handful of penalties, before referee Tom Foley lost patience with replacement home prop Francois Van Wyk and he became the second home player sent to the sin-bin.
Just as they done earlier in the half, the Chiefs made the numbers game pay, using the additional man to send Waldrom over for his 50th Premiership try of his career. Again Steenson converted to rub salt into the already exposed Northampton wound.
To their credit, the Saints refused to lie down and in a show of defiance, they gave their supporters something to cheer when scrum-half Cobus Reinach scampered in under the posts for a late consolation score.
There was, however, still time for the Chiefs to try and cap their day off in style. Launching one final attacking raid, the visitors used line-out ball to send the ball back inside to the rampaging Yeandle. The Exeter club captain had picked a lovely line, but still had plenty to do as his sprawling body hit the deck, before he stretched out to touch the line with the ball.
Foley was undecided on the grounding, but a quick check with the TV match official merely confirmed the inevitable, much to the delight of the heart Travelling Tribe who had made the festive trek from the Westcountry.
As the Saints trudged despondently off the field, the Chiefs were already celebrating. Christmas had indeed come early for Baxter and his Merry Men.
Saints: H Mallinder; A Tuala (C Ma’afu 74-80), R Horne, L Burrell (T Stephenson 74), B Foden (K Pisi 74); P Francis, N Groom (C Reinach 61); C Ma’afu (F Van Wyk 66), D Hartley (capt, M Haywood 57), J Ford-Robinson (P Hill 57); M Paterson (T Wood 57), A Ratuniyarawa (D Ribbans 66); C Lawes, J Gibson, T Harrison.
Tries - Tuala, Reinach; Conversion - Francis (2)
Yellow Cards: Foden, Van Wyk
Chiefs: H Slade; J Nowell, I Whitten (J Short 62), S Hill, O Woodburn; G Steenson (capt, J Simmonds 74), W Chudley (S Townsend 60); B Moon (C Rimmer 64), L Cowan-Dickie (J Yeandle 62), H Williams (G Holmes 64); S Skinner, J Hill; D Ewers (M Lees 61), D Armand, S Simmonds (T Waldrom 66).
Tries - Chudley, S Simmonds, Waldrom, Yeandle; Conversions - Steenson (2), J Simmonds; Penalties - Steenson (3)
Referee: T Foley
Attendance: 15,120