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Exeter seal double as Joe Simmonds punishes Wasps in Premiership final

<span>Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer</span>
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

A difference between the Exeter of old and the team that eventually subdued Wasps to add the Premiership crown to their European one is their ability to improvise. Henry Slade regarded the try he scored in last season’s final as the scantest consolation because the Chiefs went on to blow an 11-point lead, but the one he fashioned against Wasps meant so much more at the end of a season in which, finally, they eclipsed Saracens.

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The conditions were awful, light rain developing into a cloudburst shortly after the start, and a ground that held more than 80,000 had a mere scattering of souls, but the two sides transported themselves to another place in producing a fiercely fought final that was in doubt until the final minutes when Exeter, whose strengths had largely been neutralised by redoubtable opponents who since lockdown have shrugged off their reputation as an entertaining but lightweight side, found their touch.

Exeter, who became the fourth club to secure the double after Leicester, Wasps and Saracens, had to delve deep within themselves to defeat opponents who were 10th in the table earlier in the season and who were without four players who had to isolate because of coronavirus, but they have developed such knowhow over the years that for the second week running they were able to find a way of winning a final that they had not controlled.

Wasps players are left bereft in the rain after the late penalty from Exeter’s Joe Simmonds that was the last act of the game
Wasps players are left bereft in the rain after the late penalty from Exeter’s Joe Simmonds that was the last act of the game. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

Slade’s try came after 17 minutes when Wasps, who were intent on playing on the front foot, led through a Jimmy Gopperth penalty. A team whose place in the final was only confirmed on Wednesday after a round of testing for Covid-19 did not reveal a positive result and that had endured a disrupted training schedule took the game to Exeter and such was their appetite for contact and spirit on an evening when they had to park their running game that they will surely be one of the contenders against next season.

The flanker Jack Willis led by example as Wasps showed how to keep out a side renowned for converting opportunities from 10 metres out, but as the game wore on they were forced to concede penalties and ultimately paid for not taking opportunities. The most glaring miss came five minutes from time when Exeter led by three points and prepared to defend their line after Jacob Umaga’s bold kick to touch.

Henry Slade is congratulated after scoring Exeter’s try
Henry Slade is congratulated after scoring Exeter’s try. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Observer

Wasps were a catch and drive from winning their first Premiership title in 12 years but, counterintuitively, Gabriel Oghre threw the ball long and missed his target. Exeter took possession and Wasps did not get another opportunity. “Exeter were just the better team on the day,” said the Wasps head coach, Lee Blackett. “I am really proud of the players, but a couple of things did not go for us, including the lineout.”

Exeter were given early warning that they were going to have to earn every point when they kicked a penalty to touch only for the resulting drive to be thwarted by Joe Launchbury. Wasps contested everything, rushing out of defence to keep the Chiefs behind the gainline and quick to chase kicks which predominated as the rain fell and the sides cherished position more than possession.

Exeter were not getting anywhere before Slade stepped in. The Chiefs widened the point of attack in search of a weakness and when Slade received the ball 35 metres out, he had two forwards in front of him, Tom West and Tom Willis, neither of whom would have been starting but for the positive Covid-19 tests recorded at the club last week. As Willis drifted out to prevent Jack Nowell, who revealed after the match he will miss England’s autumn international campaign because he needs a toe operation, having a free run, Slade glided away from West and stepped inside Matteo Minozzi after gathering momentum.

Wasps responded with an equally well constructed try. Dan Robson held the defence at a ruck on Exeter’s 22 and drew Jonny Hill to him as he feigned to run rather than pass. That left a hole that was filled by Umaga and as the fly-half gathered speed, he shrugged off the challenge of Stuart Hogg and left Dave Ewers choking in his vapour trail.

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The try restored the lead for Wasps but they could not hold on to it. Exeter had only once before this season kicked four penalties in a match, against Gloucester during the Six Nations, and it said everything about Wasps that they had to resort to the boot here. Joe Simmonds kicked two in the final minutes of the opening half and two more in the final 15 minutes on an evening when, for once, their driving mauls stalled.

“Wasps made it a final worthy of winning,” said the Exeter head coach, Rob Baxter, “fighting as they did after all they had been through.” It was a final as close as the two played in 2017, but both sides have matured since then. Exeter have displaced Saracens as the team to beat in Europe while Wasps have developed an identity that should ensure they are challengers again next season. Only a month to go.