Joe Simmonds delivers at the double as Exeter Chiefs reach the pinnacle after final win against Wasps
Exeter Chiefs 19 Wasps 13
Stephen Jones, Rugby Correspondent
Henry Slade17'
Joe Simmonds18'
Joe Simmonds35'
Joe Simmonds40+2'
Joe Simmonds65'
Joe Simmonds80'
Jimmy Gopperth12'
Jacob Umaga29'
Jimmy Gopperth30'
Jimmy Gopperth58'
Exeter Chiefs have done the double, they were expected to and they duly came home. But never in any game in their magnificent run did they come so close to faltering, no team has ever shut down their imperious driving maul as Wasps shut it down yesterday.
On the balance of play, it was unbelievably tight, the referee certainly did Wasps no favours whatsoever and there was a definitive Wasps opportunity to win the match with six minutes to go when they — either bravely or foolishly — went for the try which would have won it and not the penalty goal which would have drawn it. But Wasps blew the chance.
Exeter became the fourth English club to do the double of Champions Cup and Premiership, but it was the first time they had done it themselves, and they know they were taken all the way and never showed their wonderful best. But they deserve massive credit, they pulled themselves together at the end, Joe Simmonds and Henry Slade were majestic, and the pack kept on battling in the teeth of a magnificent Wasps effort.
The weather was horrendous, absolutely incessant with wind and rain and it was a tremendous game, classy and entertaining.
Wasps would be almost beyond praise. They were five players short of their top team, four because of an outbreak of coronavirus. They have a galaxy of emerging talent, one day soon they will be back at Twickenham.
The dramatic conclusion began with six minutes remaining when Wasps drove at the heart of Exeter from a lineout and were about to cross Exeter were penalised in eminently kickable range.
But Wasps decided to go for the lineout and the try. It was an enormous decision, because a successful kick would have almost certainly taken it to extra time. And on the evidence of the previous drive there was every chance of Wasps driving it over again from short range.
However, Gabriel Oghre, the highly promising Wasps replacement hooker, had already thrown in crookedly and this time with the title possibly riding on it, he found only Jonny Gray of Exeter with the throw and Wasps never managed to lift their jumper off the ground. It was a catastrophe, and the referee kept on penalising Wasps until the very end, including a kick under the posts which Joe Simmonds duly put over with the clock running into red numbers.
It was a tremendous conclusion, Wasps looked horror-struck at the end, which merely emphasised that in their hearts they thought they could win, they had no inferiority complex despite their problems.
What a day in Exeter’s history, and what a powerful indication Wasps could easily be the next team to emulate the great Devonian machine.
Considering the weather, the two tries in the first half were really vintage, because both came from supreme attacking play rather than errors in the dreadful weather. Wasps had been at least as good as the Chiefs in the early stages and a downwind penalty by the excellent Jimmy Gopperth gave them a deserved lead.
They also repulsed the first attempt at an Exeter drive from close range. However, Exeter took the ball through a few phases and when Henry Slade looked up, he found that he was opposed only by forwards and he ghosted through in regal fashion to score Joe Simmonds converting.
Not long after that, Wasps came back with an even better try. Jack Willis carried powerfully on two occasions in the move, Dan Robson sniped to the right and then after the next ruck, he came back left, used Juan de Jongh as a dummy runner and found Jacob Umaga with a beautiful pass. The young Wasps fly half cut through beautifully, rounding Stuart Hogg to score, and Wasps were 10-7 ahead.
Again, Wasps repelled a couple of Exeter drives but this time infringed in the ruck and so Joe Simmonds made it level at 10-10, then yet another perfect kick from Simmonds made it 13-10 at half-time.
The third quarter was a ferocious battle in which Exeter often showed signs of getting on top, especially in the scrum, but Wasps also showed continual signs of refusing to let them. And just before the hour, with the elements still hostile, Wasps came level.
They had the edge at the time and Lima Sopoaga, fresh from injury, did them an amazing service. Sopoaga was back to field a high clearance from Slade which he did by leaving the pitch to give him a run-up in order to catch the ball in the air before it crossed the line.
That was brilliant enough but then Sopoaga chased his kick, forced a penalty well upfield and Umaga obliged with the equalising penalty so in the final quarter it was all square.
Indeed, it was on a relatively rare visit to Wasps’ territory that Exeter went back in front with only 16 minutes remaining. This time there was controversy, and the referee certainly appeared to do Wasps few favours when penalising the excellent Willis when the big man seemingly had rights to the ball.
Joe Simmonds by this time was guaranteed to put over the kick, which he did, and soon afterwards with the Exeter drive at last making some yardage, Wasps were penalised again and Slade put the ball into touch near the Wasps line with one of his trademark kicks.
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Always a Wasp