Something had to give in this collision of two teams with, respectively, the best attacking and defensive records in this season’s Prem. And on a cold, clear afternoon in north London it was the league’s most resilient operators Exeter who ultimately prevailed in a see-sawing pre-Christmas contest in which the outcome remained up for grabs right until the end.
Only in the closing seconds, as Henry Slade picked up a loose ball to spring away for the bonus point score that elevated Chiefs back to the top of the table – at least for 24 hours – could the visitors celebrate their first win on their rivals’ home ground for eight years. They deserved it, too, battling back from 24-13 down helped by two second-half tries inside six minutes from their industrious number eight Greg Fisilau.
With Dafydd Jenkins also outstanding and Olly Woodburn contributing mightily at full-back, Exeter certainly finished the stronger team. Saracens had started the day with the most tries and points in the league and added another four tries to their tally here, with Tom Willis outstanding but even another two tries from the increasingly prolific Noah Caluori could not, on this occasion, save them with Owen Farrell unable to land what could have been a late match-turning penalty.
It made for stirring entertainment and will confirm the belief of Exeter’s director of rugby Rob Baxter that his squad are motoring in the right direction. He can sense the “foundations of a good side” emerging from the rubble of last season’s disappointing campaign and here they had to show a good deal of spirit in adversity after a frustrating start. Slade had a hopeful long pass intercepted by a flying Caluori and Sarries soon had a second try on the board after a neat little blindside move worked Max Malins over in the left corner.
With Willis a constant menace on his 50th Saracens appearance and the penalty count mounting, the Chiefs were further discouraged when a possible barging score for their Georgian prop Bachuki Tchumbadze was chalked off because of a dangerous clear-out from Tom Hooper which earned the Wallaby flanker a yellow card.
It was a sizeable bonus, therefore, when Chiefs somehow collected 10 unanswered points while down to 14 players. A Slade penalty had already trimmed the deficit when Caluori fumbled a high ball which then ricocheted off the chin of the Exeter debutant Campbell Ridl and bounced loose for the winger to send Stephen Varney clear.
The question was whether the character that Baxter has been trying to rebuild would be sufficient to preserve their narrow 13-12 advantage. Initially it was more a case of Saracens stepping things up a gear, helped by a 44th minute penalty try awarded when Ridl, the last defender, was guilty of a one-handed knock on with Caluori lurking outside.
With an accompanying yellow card and the simultaneous arrival of a whole new home front row, Exeter were further discomforted by a fourth Sarries try, again finished by the athletic Caluori, despite claims of a midfield knock-on in the buildup. From 24-13 down something special was going to be required for the Chiefs to crowbar their way back into contention but, remarkably, they did so courtesy of Fisilau’s quick-fire brace and the classy Slade’s final flourish. It leaves both sides with plenty to play for in 2026 with the top of the table still highly competitive entering the festive season. Then again a league with only 10 teams and no relegation really needs a frantic battle for the playoffs.
As Baxter acknowledges there is an increasing realisation across the league that there need to be more clubs involved from a financial perspective. “I think the optimum number in the Prem is rising because clubs are seeing they could do with more home games,” said Baxter. “The finance comes first at the moment, because it has to for all of us.” Welcome to club rugby’s festive reality: Christmas is coming and the goose is getting thinner.
