Chiefs scrape through against 14 man Saints

The Exeter Chiefs were made to work incredibly hard against the Northampton Saints, as they edged it 29-26 to bring round 21 of the Premiership to a close.

Saints struck first with a try just six minutes in to lead 5-0. Saints then picked up a red card 13 minutes in to go down to 14 players for the remainder of the match.

Despite being a player down, Saints crossed for try number two five minutes later to make it 12-0. Saints kept the scoreboard ticking over, slotting a penalty and adding a late first half drop goal to take an 18-0 lead into the break after some superb defence and breakdown work throughout the first half.

The Exeter Chiefs came out ruthless in the second half, with two tries in the opening ten minutes getting them right back into the match at 18-12. Saints steadied the ship with a penalty after 52 minutes to push their lead to 21-12. Exeter hit back with their third try approaching the hour mark, but Saints responded shortly after with a score making it 26-19.

The sea-saw battle of the second half continued, as Exeter responded immediately with try number four to level matters at 26 apiece with 17 minutes remaining.

Exeter were finally able to get their noses in front, with a penalty after 74 minutes seeing them lead for the first time in the match.

Exeter would hold on for a crucial win in their race to secure a home semi-final, but credit must go to Saints for a valiant effort despite being down to 14 players for the vast majority of the match.