Exeter Chiefs: Sam Simmonds saves the day in brutal match against Wasps

Today's away fixture against Wasps was a brutal battle for the Chiefs as they only just scraped a 27-23 victory.

The first half

A very tough first half saw holes poked in Exeter's defence, and although the Chiefs managed to repel the swarming Wasps with a few key turnovers they ultimately ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Henry Slade scored a try for Exeter 20 minutes into play thanks to a series of nice little offloads that enabled the Chiefs to break through the hard-boiled Wasps defence.

Facundo Cordero followed up Slade's try just six minutes later running rings around the Wasps at lightning speed, but, despite a solid Exeter lead, the Wasps bounced back and with two successive driving mauls their forwards carried the ball over the line to take the lead at half time, with the score 20-15 to Wasps.

The second half

Exeter dominated in the second half, however, but still had to fight fiercely.

The Chiefs' forwards pummelled Wasps' defence, but knocked the ball on and had a try held up in the first ten minutes back on the field.

A chip kick and chase from Cordero looked promising, but was ultimately frustrated. A subsequent penalty brought Wasps' lead to 23-15.

Sam Simmonds saves the day

Chiefs fans were biting their nails at this point, expecting a loss - until a quick, subtle pick-and-go from the back of a scrum saw Chiefs' number eight Sam Simmonds pick the ball up with one hand and explode through four Wasps defenders to score.

A fantastic team effort and try for Jonny Hill bolstered the scoreboard even further, with a 27-23 lead to Exeter.

Wasps started swarming again, but Gallagher Premiership Player of the Match Sam Simmonds won a penalty at 73 minutes utterly frustrating the Wasps offensive.

It was a tough game and Exeter were made to work hard, and in the end there were just four points deciding the victors.