Alfie Barbeary lays down England marker as Finn Russell-less Bath gain revenge on Exeter Chiefs
Alfie Barbeary in action for Bath in the Premiership in 2024.
Bath moved back up to second position in the Premiership after superb displays from Alfie Barbeary and Ben Spencer helped them to a 26-14 triumph over Exeter Chiefs.
Johann van Graan’s men were without Finn Russell, but it did not matter as they deservedly overcame the Devonians on Saturday.
Barbeary was excellent at number eight, signalling his Test intentions to England head coach Steve Borthwick ahead of the tour to Japan and New Zealand.
The number eight opened the scoring before Spencer touched down to give Bath a 14-0 advantage at the interval.
Although Exeter responded through Olly Woodburn at the start of the second period, further scores from Max Ojomoh and Miles Reid sealed the bonus-point win.
Stu Townsend crossed the whitewash to give the Chiefs late hope, but the visitors held on to gain revenge for their Champions Cup round-of-16 defeat two weeks ago.
Click here for scorers
With the wind in their favour, Bath made the better start with a thumping tackle from Ted Hill on Josh Hodge securing an early attacking platform, but stout defence from the Chiefs kept their line intact.
The first 14 minutes were a non-event until a controversial call by the officials saw them take no action against Exeter’s England wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after he clattered Will Muir in the air as he chased a kick ahead from Tom Cairns. Scores of replays were viewed, but play was allowed to recommence with a scrum.
That was the only incident of note in a dull and scoreless first quarter before Bath had the chance to put the first points on the board, only to twice turn down kicks at goal in favour of attacking line-outs.
One was a sitter straight in front of the posts, but Bath’s positivity was rewarded when Barbeary powered over to give his side the lead in the 27th minute.
Spencer fired over the touchline conversion before a poor kick from Ollie Lawrence gave the hosts their first entry into the visitors’ 22.
Exeter looked to have made it count when Cairns darted over from close range, but TMO replays showed an earlier obstruction, so the try was ruled out.
A minute before the interval, Bath scored a crucial try.
Just inside his own half, Charlie Ewels burst away from a line-out before sending Spencer on a 35-metre run to the line. Spencer again converted from the touchline to leave his side with a deserved 14-0 half-time advantage.
Five minutes after the restart, Exeter got themselves back in contention when a long pass from Ollie Devoto provided Woodburn with a walk-in to reward a period of sustained pressure.
However, Bath responded in style when first Cairns failed to deal with a kick ahead from Ojomoh to leave the centre with just a simple pick-up to score before replacement forward Reid drove over for the bonus-point try.
Spirited Exeter replied with a try from Townsend as the home side dominated the final quarter but Bath had enough in the tank to secure a valuable five points.
The teams
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 4 Lewis Pearson, 3 Ehren Painter, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Max Norey, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Jack Dunne, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zack Wimbush
Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Alfie Barbeary, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Jacques du Plessis, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Will Butt, 23 Miles Reid
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant Referees: Sara Cox, Jonathan Healy
TMO: David Rose
READ MORE: Jake White’s risky Champions Cup selection backfires as Munster down Bulls
