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Exeter spared blushes at the death to hold on against Glasgow
By PA
Henry Slade’s late touchline conversion of Zack Wimbush’s try secured Exeter a 19-17 victory over Glasgow which sealed their place in the knockout stages of the Investec Champions Cup.
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The Exiles could have lost in a dramatic end to the match, though, as Glasgow secured a five-metre scrum from the restart.
It was Exeter’s put-in but the ball ran loose for replacement Euan Ferrie to crash over but TMO replays showed he had broken from the scrum early and the try was disallowed.
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Jacques Vermeulen, Dan Frost and Wimbush scored Exeter‘s tries with Slade converting two.
Kyle Rowe and Sione Tuipulotu grabbed the tries for Glasgow. Duncan Weir converted both and George Horne added a penalty.
Glasgow dominated the opening 10 minutes as the hosts were contained in their own half. An unfavourable bounce prevented the Scots from opening the scoring before Exeter suffered a setback when their number eight, Greg Fisilau, was yellow-carded for a high shot on Weir.
Weir departed for an HIA before Horne kicked a straightforward penalty with Chiefs receiving another setback when their centre, Rory O’Loughlin, withdrew with a shoulder injury to be replaced by Joe Hawkins.
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In Fisilau’s absence a burst from Ally Miller threatened the home defence but inexplicably Horne dropped the flanker’s pass and the try-scoring opportunity was lost.
Horne’s penalty was the only score of a disjointed first quarter so Fisilau and Weir were both able to return without any addition to the scoreboard.
After 27 minutes, Glasgow deservedly extended their lead. A well-judged chip ahead from Horne saw the covering Ben Hammersley only succeed in knocking the ball into Rowe’s hands who scooted away to score.
The Chiefs did not strike a blow in the first half-hour but they then built up their first period of sustained pressure and were rewarded when Vermeulen finished off a succession of forward drives but earlier Glasgow did have a chance to clear the lines only for Weir to knock on in the in-goal area.
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Slade converted with the last kick of the half so his side trailed 10-7 at the interval.
After the restart, Exeter maintained their momentum in terms of territory but both sides made basic handling errors so the early stages of the second half were a non-event.
Glasgow brought on internationals George Turner, Richie Gray and Jamie Bhatti in an attempt to shore up their forward effort and in time to see their side score a splendid try.
Scott Cummings made a clean break before some skilful handling ended with Tuipulotu evading two coverers to score. Weir converted and Glasgow held a 10-point advantage going into the final quarter.
Exeter lost full-back Tommy Wyatt with a leg injury but almost immediately afterwards came back into contention when Frost forced his way over from close range.
Three minutes later, Exeter looked to have drawn level when replacement Wimbush raced on to a chip ahead from Lewis Pearson to touchdown but TMO replays showed an earlier knock-on.
Apart from Tuipulotu’s try, the second half was one-way traffic in Exeter’s favour and it came as no surprise when they scored the winning try when a well-executed move resulted in Wimbush diving over and Slade’s vital kick, before Glasgow were cruelly denied in the final play.
ABSOLUTE DRAMA 🤯
Re-live the rollercoaster in the final minutes between @ExeterChiefs and @GlasgowWarriors 🎢#InvestecChampionsCup #EXEvGLA pic.twitter.com/lql29QPjV8
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) January 13, 2024
