sport news Exeter 19-26 Wasps: Visitors claim first win at Sandy Park and ease relegation ...

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Exeter suffered their first home Gallagher Premiership defeat since February last year as Wasps claimed a shock away victory at the runaway leaders. 

Rob Baxter’s Chiefs dominated the first half hour, but couldn’t find a way past Wasps’ power and clinical edge as the visitors claimed a bonus-point success. 

England star Jack Nowell – who sported a new sponsored scrum cap which featured multiple logos for this encounter – gave Exeter the lead and Nic White helped make it 12-0. 

But after that the hosts weren’t quite themselves and Wasps came back from a quiet start to score four tries with No 8 Nathan Hughes producing an impressive display. 

Away scores came from Willie Le Roux, Juan De Jongh, Marcus Watson, and a crucial second-half effort from Zurabi Zhvania. Exeter pushed hard late on and Jack Yeandle got one back, but it was not enough. Sandy Park was full to bursting despite a bitterly cold and windy afternoon. 

The conditions made for a scrappy opening and the first few scrums were a mess. With the stiff breeze causing trouble for both sides, it was no surprise to see Elliot Daly kick the ball dead. 

From there, Exeter struck. Henry Slade put a grubber kick through and Nowell pounced as the Wasps defence dithered. 

The England wing collected and beat Le Roux to score in the corner. Joe Simmonds’ conversion was inch perfect in terms of line, but it was stopped short of the posts by the wind in unfortunate fashion. Still, it was all Exeter as Slade found Nowell again with a basketball-style pass.