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Match report: Exeter Chiefs 34-37 Saracens
Paul Rees is at Twickenham for the Guardian and sent this take on a massively entertaining rugby at the final whistle.
Saracens receive the cup. For the fifth time in eight seasons, Saracens collect the Gallagher Premiership cup to add to their European Champions Cup. Brad Barritt takes possession of the trophy and raises it to the sky with the assistance of Owen Farrell.
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Exeter Chiefs receive their runners-up medals: They’ve made a massive contribution to an astonishingly good final, but there had to be a loser and they’ve lost yet again against what is arguably the best club team in English rugby history.
Jack Yeandle speaks: “I’m gonna say it’s a little bit more painful than last year because for a lot of that game we were in charge and really had our tails up,” he tells BT Sport. Asked if he thought the Chiefs had the game won after an hour, when they went 11 points in front, he replies: “I’ll be honest, yes, especially with the boys we had on the bench.”
Clearly emotional, he struggles to hold back the tears. “We just need to keep up our levels of belief and keep the hunger,” he says. “I’m immensely proud of the boys and everything we’ve done, but we’ve just slipped up at the final hurdle today.”
Maro Itoje speaks: “It’s hard to put into words,” he tells BT Sport. “We’ve been working towards this all year so big credit to all the players and all the staff. Fair play to Exeter they’re a top, top side. They’re by far and away the second best team in this competition. We have some fantastic leaders in this team. That game was all about character. We didn’t play well for large parts of that game, but luckily we had time to rescue it.”
Full time: Exeter Chiefs 34-37 Saracens
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeep! It’s all over and Saracens have somehow found a way to win this Premiership final. They looked beaten when Henry Slade put the Chiefs nine points ahead just before the hour, but a rousing pep-talk from Owen Farrell prompted them to score 21 points without reply in 16 minutes. It was an epic game of rugby, so hats off to Exeter, who more than played their part.
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TRY!!! Exeter Chiefs 34-37 Saracens
From a line-out, Sam Hill reacts quickest and crashes over the line for a Chiefs try that is converted. It’s too little too late, however, as the conversion is the last kick of the game.
79 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-37 Saracens Apologies for the minor confusion in that previous entry. The gap is 10 points with less than two minutes remaining and Exeter are set to lose yet another final to a team who looked beaten around the hour mark. In the BT Sport commentary box, Austin Healy awards Maro Itoje his man of the match award. He’s played well, but given away a lot of penalties and spent 10 minutes in the sin bin.
TRY! Exeter Chiefs 27-37 Saracens
77 min: From the line-out, Saracens drive for the Chiefs line and Jamie George goes over to touch the ball down under the posts for his second try of the game. Farrell doesn’t miss this one.
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76 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-30 Saracens From the kick-off, Maro Itoje does brilliantly to win the ball back from the Chiefs, before a wonderful Farrell kick to the corner pins Exeter back on their own line.
74 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-30 Saracens Saracens win a penalty as Chiefs collapse a scrum about 30 metres from goal. Owen Farrell steps up for a kick you’d put your house on him making in his sleep and ... pulls the ball wide of the left upright. Crikey!
71 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-30 Saracens Another box-kick from Nic White on the edge of the Exeter 22. A promising move up the field breaks down when No8 Matt Kvesic takes his eye off an incoming pass and drops the ball.
70 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-30 Saracens Chiefs full-back Jack Nowell hobbles off under his own steam, but we won’t be seeing him again. He’s had a good game and is replaced by Gareth Steenson, who comes in at No10. Henry Slade moves to full-back and Joe Simmonds moves into the centre, presumably.
70 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-30 Saracens It’s worth noting that when Saracens went 27-16 ahead, Owen Farrell gave his Saracens team-mates an absolute rocket as he screamed and shouted at them in a huddle under the posts. Their response has been nothing if not emphatic. There’s a break in play as Jack Nowell receives treatment for what looks like a nasty leg injury. He shipped a tackle while in possession and his leg twisted badly as he went to ground.
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TRY!!! Exeter Chiefs 27-30 Saracens
67 min: Richard Wigglesworth finds a hole in the Chiefs defence and burst forward from the halfway line. He offloads to Alex Hale and from the subsequent breakdown, Hale whips the ball to his left and suddenly Saracens have a massive overlap. The ball goes through assorted pairs of hands with lightning speed, finding its way to Alex Lozowski, who cuts inside his man and goes over in the corner. Andy Farrell makes no mistake with the conversion.
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65 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-23 Saracens Saracens have the ball, but kick it high to test Joe Simmonds again. He catches once again, but Saracens turn over possession.
63 min: Exeter Chiefs 27-23 Saracens Nic White leaves the ball hanging with a high kick from halfway. Owen Farrell spots some space in behind Simmonds but is unable to find touch as the territorial battle continues.
TRY! Exeter Chiefs 27-23 Saracens
A fantastic cross-field kick from Owen Farrell catches out Joe Simmonds, who is backpedalling and misjudges the flight of the ball. Liam Williams leaps to catch the ball and goes over in the corner, with Simmonds powerless to stop him. Owen Farrell adds the precious extras.
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TRY! Exeter Chiefs 27-16 Saracens
Exeter make their way from one side of the pitch to the other with a lovely ball over the top and a brilliant offload from Sam Skinner to Henry Slade enables the Chiefs centre to go over in the corner, the ball in the hand of one outstretched arm. That’s a wonderful try, but Saracens attempts to defend it were very casual. Joe Simmonds misses with his conversion attempt.
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57 min: Exeter 25-16 Saracens Mario Itoje is not having one of his better games and concedes another penalty for lying on the ball. Chiefs kick for touch, win the subsequent line-out and make ground towards the Saracens 22.
55 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens There’s a break in play as Saracens wing-forward Jackson Wray receives medical attention. He’s fit to continue and it’s a scrum to Sarries on the halfway line.
53 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Alex Goode has a kick blocked and one of his team-mates boots the ball over the Saracens try-line. Alex Lowzowski wins the foot-race to get the touchdown. It was close and he was quite casual, but the TMO confirms it is no try.
50 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Nic White clears the danger for Exeter again, but only as far as their own 22. He appears to injure his calf while kicking and requires treatment. He’s going to soldier on, but it looks like a muscle injury that he’ll be unable to run off. In the meantime, Mick Rhodes comes on for Sarries, while Sam Skinner replaces Jonny Hill in the Exeter ranks.
48 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Saracens are in possession on the Chiefs’ 22. Nic White repels them with a bruising tackle. Farrell plays the ball out wide to Tompkins, but his offload to Williams goes into touch with the winger under pressure from Chiefs full-back Jack Nowell.
47 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Luke Cowan-Dickie, Alec Hepburn and Tomas Francis come on for the chiefs, as Rob Baxter rings the changes.
45 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens More sloppy play from a tired and error-prone looking Saracens side, as Vincent Koch passes the ball straight to somebody in a black shirt. With his team under pressure pinned back on their line, scrum-half Nic White helps Exeter clear their lines with a fine kick for touch.
43 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Another error from Saracens, with Itoje grappling for the ball in a ruck while lying on the ground. Exeter kick for the corner, but don’t quite make it. George Kruis steals possession back for Saracens at the ensuing line-out. They’ve dodged a bullet, there.
42 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Saracens get the put-in at the restart as they were in possession of the ball when the referee stopped play. Richard Wigglesworth picks the ball out of the scrum and sets off on a darting run, only to drop the ball. Exeter have possession.
41 min: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens Saracens scrum-half Ben Spencer goes down injured after getting clattered by the hip of his team-mate Liam Williams, while the pair went for the same high ball. He’s taken a bang on the head there and has to go off for a HIA and the mandatory 10 minutes R&R that come with it. Richard Wigglesworth replaces him.
Second half: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens
Saracens kick off, with Nick Tompkins on for Brad Barritt, who was a doubt for this match with a hamstring injury, but managed to play the first half. The Chiefs are unchanged.
Half-time: Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens
A frenetic first half draws to a close and Exeter Chiefs go in for the break with the advantage. It’s been a fantastically entertaining and eventful game of rugby so far, with both sides roaring out of the traps from the gun.
Penalty! Exeter Chiefs 22-16 Saracens
40+1 min: Exeter win a penalty under the posts as Saracens collapse the scrum. Uncharacteristically, because the clock is in the red zone they kick and take the three points. It’s half time.
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40 min: Exeter Chiefs 19-16 Saracens Alex Goode prevents Dave Ewars from going over, going down under the Exeter wing-forward as he goes over so he can’t ground the ball. Exeter win a five-metre scrum as the first half clock ticks into the red zone.
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38 min: Exeter Chiefs 19-16 Saracens Chiefs attack on the edge of the Saracens 22, with Vunipola and Skelton putting in big tackles to repel them. Ollie Devoto makes five metres with a powerful surge as Exeter go in search of their fourth try. They’re a metre from the line, burrowing busily and Jack Nowell looks to have gone over, but is caught just short.
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PENALTY! Exeter Chiefs 19-16 Saracens
35 min: Exeter prop Ben Moon is penalised for not releasing the ball in the tackle, giving Saracens a penalty that is range for Owen Farrell. He slots it over and Dan Armand returns from his HIA. Sam Skinner makes way.
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TRY! Exeter Chiefs 19-13 Saracens
With a forlorn Mario Itoje marooned on the touchline waiting for a break in play following the end of his 10-minute suspension, Exeter go over again. Jack Yeandle picks and runs, drawing two defenders. The ball is offloaded to Jonny Hill, who goes over from a metre out despite the close attention of two Saracens tacklers in Billy Vunipola and Jamie George. Joe Simmonds is unsuccessful with his conversion attempt.
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28 min: Exeter Chiefs 14-13 Saracens Exeter go through phase after phase as they advance into the Saracens 22, while Mario Itoje is made to wait before returning to action following his spell on the Naughty Step. Not for the first time in this game, Chiefs are camped on the Saracens line.
26 min: Exeter Chiefs 14-13 Saracens Exeter No7 Dan Armand walks off with a head injury and looks to be heading for an assessment from the doctor. Sam Skinner replaces him and his side immediately get a penalty advantage as they play the ball hither and yon across the pitch looking for an opening. Liam Williams steals the ball from Exeter second row Dave Dennis out by the touchline, but immediately puts his foot in touch and Exeter have a line-out.
23 min: Exeter Chiefs 14-13 Saracens Speaking to BT Sport from his vantage point in the stands, Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has this to say. “Once they’re getting on the front against us, it’s like a rollercoaster that takes some stopping,” he admits.
“We’re going to have to work extremely hard in defence. There’s a few things we can do. We’ve got a couple of guys out there who can settle down a bit and actually think their way through the game a little bit better. I’m not completely concerned but we’ve got our work cut out.”
TRY!!! Exeter Chiefs 14-13 Saracens
Exeter wing-forward Dave Ewers finally drives low and hard over the line from one meter out after a lengthy siege on the Saracens line. Joe Simmonds adds the two extra points with a good boot from the touchline.
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19 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-13 Saracens It’s carry, after carry after carry from Exeter as they attempt to make that final yard over the line. Mario Itoje is over-exuberant in his efforts to repel them and is sent to the bin for – I think – being serially offside. Exeter kick for the corner again. With Henry Slade back on the pitch for Exeter, now it’s Saracens who are at a numerical advantage.
18 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-13 Saracens With Exeter laying siege to the Saracens line, George Kruis is penalised for offside. Exeter kick for the corner and will go for the catch-and-drive. They win the line-out, but Owen Farrell puts in a monster tackle to drive them backwards.
17 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-13 Saracens Good work from Exeter from the kick-off, as the make ground with some superb running to within a metre of the Saracens try-line.
TRY! Exeter Chiefs 7-13 Saracens
Saracens score their second try following some great ball-carrying from Billy Vunipola off the scrum and then George Kruis, who makes another couple of yards. Scrum-half Ben Spencer goes over for the try but ... weirdly, Owen Farrell fails to add the extras.
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13 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-8 Saracens An Exeter scrum just inside their own 22 is awarded the other way after the men in black fall foul of Wayne Barnes, the referee.
11 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-8 Saracens Back to that Saracens try. Owen Farrell kicked for touch and from the ensuing line-out, hooker Jamie George caught the ball and grounded it from the subsequent drive over the line.
PENALTY! Exeter Chiefs 7-8 Saracens
Owen Farrell kicks Sarries into the lead with a kick that wasn’t one of his better ones, but limped over the bar and between the posts nonetheless.
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8 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-5 Saracens Dave Ewars and Alex Cuthbert are penalised for conspiring to not release the ball following a tackle and Saracens have a penalty.
TRY! Exeter Chiefs 7-5 Saracens
What a start to this final!!! Saracens elect to run the penalty and go over. Owen Farrell fails with his conversion. This game has started with quite the bang.
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4 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-0 Saracens Following a consultation with the TMO, Wayne Barnes sends Henry Slade to the sin bin. He doesn’t award a penalty try because Jack Nowell was in a position to put in a covering tackle.
3 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-0 Saracens: Having conceded a try on the 27-second mark, Saracens attempt to get a foothold in the game. They advance up the pitch, with Owen Farrell on the overlap on the left touchline. The ball is passed out over the touchline, but there’s a suspicion of a deliberate knock-on from Henry Slade as he made the tackle. He looks destined for the sin-bin, but will there be a penalty try awarded?
TRY! Exeter score within 30 seconds
1 min: Exeter Chiefs 7-0 Saracens An early handling error from the kick-off by George Kruis allows Exeter’s Alex Cuthbert to lead the charge towards the line and scrum-half Nic White goes over from the ensuing ruck. What a start from Exeter, who add the two points from the conversion.
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The teams are out: The teams march out on to the pitch, with players of reigning champions Saracens wearing red shirts, shorts and socks. Exeter’s player’s wear black shirts, black shorts and black socks. Kick off is moments away.
Not long now: The trophy is out on the pitch and the teams are going through the last of their pre-match niceties in their dressing-rooms. It’s a glorious day for rugby at Twickenham, where the sun is shining brightly.
Jack Nowell speaks: “The emotions that we felt last year, coming in after the game where there were a lot of tears has driven us all through the years,” Exeter’s full-back tells BT Sport, when asked how it feels to be up against Saracens in another final. “It’s going to be nice to play against these boys.” On the subject of his team’s tactics, he says: “I think Owen Farrell puts his kicks on the money all the time, so we’ve got to be up in the air trying to catch that ball.”
Will Skelton speaks: “I think we’re focussed,” says the Saracens second row, in an interview with BT Sport. “It’s a massive game ahead. We got to attack them at set-piece, it’s where they’re strongest. We have to try and stop their front foot ball. They’ve got some good ball carriers and we’ve got to smash them.” Asked how big a bonus it is that Brad Barritt is fit to start, he doesn’t mince his words. “He’s inspirational,” he says. “The way he hits people, his collisions. You aspire to be like him.”
Team news
Both teams are unchanged from their semi-final wins. Saracens captain Brad Barritt was a doubt for today’s final, but has recovered from a hamstring injury that forced him out of Sarries’ win over Gloucester last weekend.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley and Tom Foley
TMO: Graham Hughes
Exeter Chiefs v Saracens line-ups
Exeter Chiefs: Nowell; Cuthbert, Slade, Devoto, O’Flaherty; J. Simmonds, White; Moon, Yeandle (c), Williams, Dennis, Hill, Ewers, Armand, Kvesic.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Hepburn, Francis, Skinner, S. Simmonds, Maunder, Steenson, Hill.
Saracens: Goode; Williams, Lozowski, Barritt (c), Maitland; Farrell, Spencer; Barrington, George, Koch, Skelton, Kruis, Itoje, Wray, B. Vunipola.
Replacements: Woolstencroft, Adams-Hale, Judge, Isiekwe, Rhodes, Wigglesworth, Tompkins, Strettle.
Premiership final: Exeter Chiefs v Saracens
Twickenham is the venue for a repeat of last year’s final, with Saracens hoping to retain their title and Exeter plotting some long overdue revenge. Exeter topped the Premiership table with 87 points, then beat Northampton Saints in the semi-finals to reach their fourth Premiership Rugby Final in as many years. Having won this title in three of the past four years, Saracens thrashed Gloucester in their semi-final and are looking to win their fifth Premiership title. Kick-off is at 3pm (BST) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
