Chiefs 24 Saracens 12
Exeter Chiefs 24
Saracens 12
Mark Stevens at Sandy Park
The effects of the 'Beast from the East' and 'Storm Emma' may have melted away as quickly as it came, but Exeter Chiefs showed they are more longer lasting in terms of their title defence as they extended their lead at the top of the Aviva Premiership.
Rob Baxter's side are now seven points clear of Wasps at the summit after they saw off fellow play-off contenders Saracens 24-14 with a hard-fought display at Sandy Park.
Three first half penalties from fly-half Joe Simmonds, plus a try from full-back Phil Dollman, gave the hosts a slender 14-12 advantage at the break as the visitors countered with tries from Ben Earl and Schalk Brits, one of which was converted by Ben Spencer.
However, a disciplined and well-executed second half display saw the reigning champions extend their lead with a fourth Simmonds penalty, before the combined efforts of the home pack generated a deserved penalty try in the final ten minutes.
Having returned to not only winning ways, but also top spot in the division with victory over Northampton Saints last time out, the Chiefs were hoping to extend their advantage against Mark McCall's men.
Ahead of kick-off, Baxter made six changes in personnel, drafting in Tomas Francis and Dave Ewers up front, while behind Nic White and Joe Simmonds formed a new half-back pairing, Henry Slade returned in the centre for the first time since January, while Dollman was entrusted with the anchor role.
Saracens, meanwhile, were without 18 of their first team squad for various reasons, but their line-up still oozed class and experience aplenty as they looked to bounce back from defeat against Leicester Tigers seven days earlier. They brought into their side lock George Kruis, who had been released in the week by England, plus young back-row forward Earl for his maiden Premiership start.
However, it was the Chiefs - playing with a strong first half wind at their backs - who started the stronger, taking the lead inside two minutes as Simmonds - making his first league start of the season - sent over a routine penalty after the visitors had been pulled up for not releasing at the tackle.
And it was a lead the hosts were able to double shortly after when the young playmaker repeated the feat with another pin-point kick. His effort was the culmination of some outstanding build-up play involving Slade, Simmonds and Waldrom, which forced the Londoners to stray offside deep inside their own 22.
It was the ideal start for Baxter’s side, who were lucky to escape conceding midway through the half when a slick Saracens attack created space for Alex Goode, whose clever grubber kick in behind looked for all the money set to be gobbled up by the onrushing Chris Wyles. However, as the American speedster collected the ball, his foot strayed into the touchline, ruling out immediately the score he thought he had claimed.
The Chiefs made the most of the let-off and they threatened almost immediately when a superb break from Slade saw him slice through the heart of the Sarries defence. Although the England man's charge came to nothing, both Ewers and Thomas Waldrom looked to carry on the raid from close quarters.
Sadly, the attacking burst failed to bring reward on this occasion, but another venture just moments later proved more profitable when Simmonds slotted a third penalty, this after Kruis was lucky to escape sanction from referee Matt Carley for what appeared to be a deliberate knockdown.
Saracens needed to find a response and with half time fast approaching, they stung the Chiefs with a score of their own through Earl, who raced in under the posts following a sublime offload from Marcelo Bosch. Spencer obliged with the additional extras to cut Exeter's lead to just two points.
But no sooner had the visitors hauled themselves back into the contest, the Chiefs hit them with a score of their own. Strong carries from the Exeter forwards, most notably replacement prop Alec Hepburn, saw them dent the Sarries defensive line, before the ball was whipped out cleverly to the back division where Simmonds offered the perfect pass for Dollman to find his way over in the corner.
An action-packed half, however, was far from finished and having positioned themselves back deep inside the Exeter 22 with two penalties, the visitors used the resulting five-metre line-out to work the opening for hooker Brits to burrow over for a second Sarries try.
HALF TIME EXETER CHIEFS 14 SARACENS 12
Now with the wind in their favour, Sarries were looking to use the elements to aid their hopes of pressing the Chiefs back at every opportunity. Instead, it was the Chiefs - no strangers to the local conditions - who lapped up the chance to have ball.
Unlike many others who have visited this parish in the past, Baxter's side protect the ball as if it's a prized possession. Indeed, they are more than happy to put their own bodies through the ringer in their quest to wear down their counterparts.
For a period at least, the linespeed of the visitors, coupled with Exeter's insistence on playing keep ball, meant the contest was restricted to a brutal and physical arm-wrestle played between the respective 10 metre lines.
Something, though, had to give and it appeared it was the Chiefs who had surrended the initiative when lock Jonny Hill was adjudged to have failed to move quickly enough having been pinned down attempting to clear a ruck midway inside his own half.
It offered Spencer the chance to put his side in front for the first time, but the normally reliable goalkicker - who had failed to convert Brits' score - again failed to hit the target, this time seeing his lengthy effort drop short.
At the other end, Simmonds was having no such issues. The 21-year-old stroked over his fourth penalty of the afternoon after the Chiefs - supplemented now by the arrival of fresh stock, including Messrs Yeandle, Holmes, Lees and Sam Simmonds - helped win a scrum penalty just past the hour mark.
Sensing they had the edge up front, the Chiefs were happy to use their eight-man mass as their key strike weapon. Again, having positioned themselves back within enemy territory, they looked to hammer home their advanatge.
Having won a penalty with their first scrum, skipper Don Armand demanded more of the same from his team-mates. Another set-piece penalty followed, as did another, before referee Carley finally lost patience with the antics of the visitors, who were now being shunted back at a rate of knots. He had little option but to award the penalty try.
Now 12 points clear and with just five minutes remaining, all the Chiefs needed to do was simply close out the game.
Saracens, however, were not going down without a fight. Clever inter-play between Alex Lozowski and Tom Whiteley almost fashioned a late try, whilst it took a super steal from Jonny Hill at the front of a line-out to deny the visitors from potentially thundering over from another five-metre drive.
Hill's good work, though, was almost undone in an instance by team-mate Hepburn, who threw a speculative pass to his left, causing mayhem in the home ranks. Thankfully, there were enough Exeter men alert to the danger and the mess was cleared up in a jiffy, ensuring a priceless four points for Devon's finest.
Chiefs: P Dollman; L Turner, H Slade, S Hill (I Whitten 56), O Woodburn; J Simmonds (G Steenson 75), N White; B Moon (A Hepburn 30), L Cowan-Dickie (J Yeandle 61), T Francis (G Holmes 61); S Skinner, J Hill; D Ewers (M Lees 56), D Armand, T Waldrom (S Simmonds 49). Replacement (not used): S Townsend
Tries - Dollman, Penalty Try; Conversion - Penalty Try; Penalties - J Simmonds (4)
Saracens: A Goode; N Earle, M Bosch, B Barritt (capt, M Malins 40), C Wyles (R Segun 42); A Lozowski, B Spencer (T Whiteley 72); R Barrington (H Thompson-Stringer 61), S Brits (S Spurling 72), J Figallo (T Lamositele 50); D Day (B Cowan 53), G Kruis; N Isiekwe, B Earl (M Flanagan 78), J Wray.
Tries - Earl, Bosch; Conversion - Spencer
Referee: M Carley
Attendance: 12,727