Irish 23 Chiefs 29

London Irish    23

Exeter Chiefs    29

Mark Stevens at the Madejski Stadium

It wasn't pretty - in fact it was downright ugly at times - but Exeter Chiefs produced a stunning fightback to record their first away win of the season in the Aviva Premiership against London Irish.

Trailing 23-12 with just 20 minutes remaining at the Madejski Stadium, Rob Baxter's side dug deep into their reserves to bag the bounty courtesy of Ben White's late converted score.

Fly-half Gareth Steenson's 19 point haul saw him pass 1,000 league points for the Devon club, whilst skipper Dean Mumm also got in on the scoring act as he claimed his second try of the season.

In reply, Irish countered with tries from Nic Rouse and Marland Yarde, as well as 13 points from Irish international Ian Humphreys, but a late yellow card to David Paice was to prove costly for the Exiles.

Buoyed by their victory over London Wasps, the Chiefs stuck largely with the same starting XV for this latest top flight. An injury to No.8 Dave Ewers, however, meant he was forced to sit out the action, so England international reverted from the blindside flank to the base of the scrum and Aussie Ben White was promoted from the bench for his first start of the season.

On the bench, Craig Mitchell's injury sustained in the A League win over Wasps on Monday meant he was also missing, so Carl Rimmer was recalled as the second prop option, whilst Kai Horstmann filled the void left by White's promotion.

For the Exiles, they too made changes from their side that had claimed victory at Worcester Warriors the week previous. In the pack, Declan Danahar and Bryn Evans came into the back-row at the expense of Jon Fisher and Chris Hala'uifa, whilst behind Fergus Mulchrone started at centre ahead of Guy Armitage.

And the home side's cause was further hampered in the warm-up when they lost the dangerous Topsy Ojo to a hamstring injury, so Alex Lewington came in for his debut at full-back.

With little to choose between either side coming into the game, the opening exchanges proved a tight affair as the respective packs looked to lay down their markers. It was, however, the Chiefs who were first to strike when Steenson slotted them in front on six minutes after the home side were penalised for crossing just inside their own half.

Within minutes the Exiles had the chance to restore parity, but Humphreys drilled his testing kick from wide on the left touchline off target, as did Steenson who failed with an equally tough assignment of his own after winger Ian Whitten had cleverly intercepted an Irish pass to get Exeter back on the front foot.

Missed kicks, though, are a rarity for both Humphreys and Steenson and it was not long before either player rediscovered their kicking boots. Both exchanged penalties, before the Chiefs man added a third kick to put his side 9-3 up just past the first quarter mark.

It was ugly stuff from both sides as penalties aplenty littered the half - and the respective skippers Tomas O'Leary and Dean Mumm were given stern instructions from referee Andrew Small as he looked to clean things up.

And it was Irish who responded the brighter when having seen a try opportunity chalked off by the TMO following some excellent defensive work from Steenson, they claimed the game's opening converted try on 30 minutes when former Plymouth Albion and Nottingham lock Rouse rumbled over from close range following a series of close-in pick-and-go drives.

Worse could have followed just moments later when England international Johnson was lucky to escape with only a warning following a high forearm into the face of Irish centre Fergus Mulchrone. Again Humphreys was unable to land the resultant penalty, shanking his effort short of the mark.

HALF TIME    LONDON IRISH 10        EXETER CHIEFS 9

Having used the half-time break to chat to his players about the mounting penalty count and a miserable turnover rate, the Chiefs re-emerged for the second period determined to get their game back on track.

Initially the signs looked good as the visitors took the game to Irish up front. Solid work from the Exeter pack not only won them decent territory, but also a penalty which Steenson duly landed to put his side back in front.

However, things took a turn for the worse on 50 minutes when Welsh wing Tom James was spotted by referee Andrew Small pulling back a rival as he looked to chase down a ball. The former Cardiff Blues speedster was duly dispatched to the sin-bin and whilst he was off the field the Exiles helped themselves to 13 points.

Humphreys landed two penalties, either side of converting Irish's second try which came courtesy of Yarde, who was able to exploit the numbers game and cross in the right-hand corner.

Exeter needed a rapid response and having seen centre Jason Shoemark adjudged to have been held up on the line following one huge thrust through the middle, they finally began to plot their way back into the game.

Steenson slotted another penalty, before the visitors struck a crucial first try of their own. With Irish losing prop John Yapp to the cooler for a professional foul, the Chiefs made their numerical advantage tell when they created the opening for Aussie international Mumm to cross.

Now with the tide of momentum firmly swinging the way of Baxter's side, they looked to deliver a telling blow. First, replacement scrum-half Dave Lewis went within a millimetre of his maiden score with a solo snipe, before a series of scrums deep inside the Irish 22 laid the foundation for the Chiefs to strike.

With the nudge on in the scrum, Johnson picked up from the base before White gobbled up the offload to crash in under the sticks for a vital score. Steenson duly converted the extras before the Chiefs masterfully wrapped up the game much to the delight of Baxter and his fellow coaches.

Next up for Exeter is the visit of the champions Leicester Tigers to Sandy Park on Sunday - and already the Chiefs are sharpening their claws in readiness for another epic encounter.

Irish: A Lewington; M Yarde, F Mulchrone (S Geraghty 74), E Sheridan, A Fenby; I Humphreys (M Parr 72-77, S Tagicakibau 77), T O'Leary (capt, D Allinson 76); M Parr (J Yapp 58), D Paice (J Stevens 74), H Aulika (L Halavatau 35); N Rouse (I Nimmo 45-48), J Sinclair (I Nimmo 72); D Danahar, B Evans, O Treviranus.

Tries - Rouse, Yarde; Conversions - Humphreys (2); Penalties - Humphreys (3)

Yellow Card: Yapp

Chiefs: P Dollman; I Whitten, J Shoemark, S Hill (M Jess 54), T James; G Steenson, H Thomas (D Lewis 56); B Sturgess (B Moon 53), J Yeandle (C Whitehead 68), H Tui (C Rimmer 57); D Mumm (capt), D Welch; B White (K Horstmann 74), J Scaysbrook, T Johnson. Replacements (not used): T Hayes, H Slade.

Tries - Mumm, White; Conversions - Steenson (2); Penalties - Steenson (5)

Yellow Card: James

Referee: A Small

Attendance: 6,004

UP NEXT FOR THE CHIEFS: v Leicester Tigers (H), Aviva Premiership, Sunday, September 29 (2pm)