Prem
Exeter Chiefs (14) 24
try: Fesilao, Riedel, Varney shortcoming: Slade 3 Pen: Slade
Leicester Tigers (7) 10
try: Henderson shortcoming: Serre Pen: Serre
Exeter beat Leicester 24-10 at a sold-out Sandy Park to move back into second place in the Premier League.
Greg Fisilau gave Exeter an early lead before 20-year-old winger Campbell Ridl stunningly scored his first Premier League shot to put Exeter 14-0 ahead after 25 minutes.
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Harvey Skinner had Exeter’s third try disallowed and shortly afterwards Cameron Henderson stepped up to put the Tigers on the scoreboard.
Henry Slade’s penalty doubled the lead 10 minutes after the break before Stephen Varney’s strike in the 72nd minute made the game safe with the Tigers trailing a man behind after a yellow card.
Billy Sale scored a late penalty for the Tigers before Liddell and Will Goodrick-Clark both conceded from the line in stoppage time, with Exeter missing out on a try-scoring bonus point that would have put them top of the table.
The defeat leaves Leicester fifth in the Premier League after eight games, while Exeter is one point behind Northampton and one ahead of third-placed Bath.
Stephen Varney scores second of the match against Exeter [Getty Images]
The Tigers survived a penalty kick from Andrea Zambonin in the seventh minute that put pressure on the Tigers defence, but three minutes later they were unable to stop a powerful drive from Fisilau who burst into the Tigers defense from 15 meters.
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The lead was almost doubled after 11 minutes but Exeter’s dynamic attack saw the Tigers rush to the line but the Tigers stopped Bachuki Tchumbadze as he tried to go over.
Soon after, England Under-20 winger Liddell, who has emerged suddenly in recent weeks, showed all his verve as he cut the ball past his marker before regrouping, skipping past Ollie Hassell-Collins and diving under the post for a memorable first-ever Premier League rugby win.
Moments later, Skinner scored on a breakaway, and the score could have been 21-0, but replays showed that Will Rigg made an unnecessary push on Izaya Perese on the play, which may have prevented the Tigers center from getting to Skinner.
Leicester responded three minutes later when Henderson galloped over after Jamie Blemire found Ollie Cracknell before the Tigers’ No.8 sealed the visitors on the stroke of half-time.
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After enduring early pressure from Leicester, Slade opened up a 10-point gap with a penalty kick in the 50th minute before the England center was tackled by Sam Williams, sending the Tigers’ substitute to the bin.
As soon as Williams returned to the pitch, Leicester reduced the deficit to 14 points again – this time Sale was adjudged to have run in from the wing as he tried to stop Skinner and Exeter’s fly-half broke over the line.
Referee Anthony Woodthorpe believed Skinner had been brought down by one of Sale’s team-mates before the goal and no penalty was awarded.
The Tigers thought they had once again withstood the test of their second 14-man squad, but just as Sale was about to return, Fescilao broke through and fed Varney, the Italian defender scoring his second shot in as many games.
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Leicester scored their first points of the first half with four minutes remaining when substitute Ruthie Tuima was sent off for contact with the head of Finn Theobald Thomas and Serge converted a penalty.
By the 80th minute, most at Sandy Park thought their side had moved top of the table, but Liddell lost control of the ball from a corner kick on the right and, after several penalties, Goodrick Clark’s shot from close range was blocked.
The win follows last week’s win over Saracens and reaffirms Exeter’s title credentials as they continue to recover from a dismal performance last season, when they finished second from bottom.
Exeter in ‘positive position across the board’
Exeter attacking coach Dave Wald told BBC Sport:
“If you give us a win this morning, we’ll take it.
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“Deep down we were a little disappointed with our accuracy but at the same time it probably shows where we’ve come from and where we are at the moment.
“Last week we were disappointed not to take an extra point from Saracens with a kick at the end of the game and this week we’re a bit disappointed that we couldn’t win ourselves an extra point with more accuracy at crucial moments.
“We’re not too focused on where we are in the league, what’s important is the process at the moment and the lads are in a good place and working hard.
“Overall, we are in a positive position and we have to make sure we don’t forget what got us to this point and remain hard-working and focused in everything we do.”
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Leicester City manager Jeff Palling told BBC Sport:
“I obviously did something wrong this week because I just felt like we looked a little bit off, whether it was during warm-ups or the first 30 minutes.
“They’re a very good team, they’re at home, playing well and full of confidence, but it just goes to show that if you play away against a team like Exeter, it’s 5% less in the way you prepare, 5% less in what you turn up and do during the day, and you’re going to get injured.
“I’ve got a good team and good players who work hard for each other. As long as we learn from today, if we’re even a little bit off in what we’re doing – and I’ll look back at practice week and what we did there – then you’re going to get hurt.”
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Exeter: Woodburn; Fay-Waboso, Slade, Rigg, Riddell; Skinner, Varney; Sio, Dweba, Tchumbadze, Jenkins (c), Zambonin, Hooper, E. Roots, Fisilau.
Alternatives: Yeander, Goodrick Clark, J. Lutz, Tuima, James, Chapman, Haydn Wood, John.
Xin Bin: Tuima(76)
Leicester: Steward; Radwan, Perese, Kattar, Hassell-Collins; Sale, Whiteley; N. Smith, Blamire, Hayes, Henderson, Cheetham (middle), Moreau, Reiffel, Cracknell.
Alternatives: Theobald Thomas, Haffar, Hurd, Thompson, Williams, Van Pultfleet, Bailey, Hammer-Webb.
Xin Bin: Williams(51), Sale(62)
referee: Anthony Woodthorpe.
