Exeter Chiefs produced the comeback of the Gallagher Premiership season at the Rec on Saturday, overturning a 16-point deficit to beat champions Bath 27-26 and book a final against Northampton at Twickenham.
Bath, without the injured Finn Russell, had looked in command. An early yellow card for Exeter's Henry Slade let the hosts strike twice through Beno Obano and Thomas du Toit, and further tries from Joe Cokanasiga and Henry Arundell — three converted by Santiago Carreras — opened a 26-10 half-time lead. The holders were within sight of a third straight final and a shot at becoming only the fourth side to win back-to-back titles in the play-off era.
The second half belonged entirely to Exeter. Christ Tshiunza's first-half score had kept them in touch, and tries from Ben Hammersley and Greg Fisilau hauled the visitors back to within four points. When Cokanasiga was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, Ethan Burger forced his way over in the 68th minute for what proved the winning score. Bath threw 40 phases at the Exeter line in a frantic finale before prop Billy Sela was held up short.
It was 17 unanswered points after the break, and it extended Exeter's perfect record in Premiership play-off matches to seven wins from seven. For a side that finished ninth last season — a campaign that included a 79-17 hammering at Gloucester — it was a remarkable turnaround.
Fly-half Harvey Skinner could barely process it. "I've not got words to describe that, it's mental," he told Rugby365 at full time. "The boys showed some great fight, we stuck at it and we came good in the end."
Director of rugby Rob Baxter claimed he had never doubted it. "The first words I said at half-time were 'I'm really confident we're going to win the game'," he told TNT Sports. He had watched Bath toil for their points and sensed the tide turning. "I just thought 'this is going to be our time'. If we were ever going to exploit it, it was going to be now."
Baxter reserved his real pride for how far his players had come. "You look at the players fighting to a standstill — I don't know how they did it. They are the same players who shipped 79 points at Gloucester, but they are different men now," he said. "Bath are a hell of a team, and the only thing that makes our performance worth anything is we have beaten a very good, well-coached team."
For Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan, it was a chance squandered. "Our intent was excellent in the first half, but we did not put them away. We left a few chances out there," he said. With the scores level in the closing stages, Bath chose to keep ball in hand rather than set for a drop goal. "One point is the biggest and smallest margin in sport. We were set up for the drop-goal and to take it wide. Ultimately, the decision was taken to pick and go and I back the team with that."
He refused to let the defeat erase the season. "We win together and lose together. I am proud of what we have done. We will reflect tonight on the memories we have made."
Exeter now travel to Twickenham next Saturday to face Northampton, the regular-season table-toppers, who beat Leicester 45-31 in Friday's other semi-final. It will be the Chiefs' first final since 2021.
