It was last play heartache for EURFC, as a late penalty from Patrick Bishop secured a 23-20 victory for Durham in a seismic clash at Hollow Drift.
It was the proverbial game of two halves on the night, as EURFC went into the sheds with a 17-8 lead following tries from Toby Smith, Chris Moore and Josh Barton.

In the second half though, Durham came out firing, with tries from captain Fred Davies and centre Olly Walker completing the comeback in front of a raucous home crowd.

The opening exchanges were all Durham, as they looked to get the fired-up home crowd involved early in the match. In truth, they should have opened the scoring on the night as well, fly half Harry Mercer missing a relatively simple kick at goal after just two minutes.
Exeter found their footing in the game not long after, as they looked to spread the ball and show the same running rugby that saw them score eight tries in Swansea the week before.

Despite camping themselves in the Durham 22, a knock-on let them down. That disappointment wasn’t too last long though, as Toby Smith opened the scoring for the night in the tenth minute.

An initial surging break from Arthur Relton, assisted by ill-discipline from the hosts, saw EURFC take play into the Durham 22. From there, fly half Josh Barton carved his way through a gap in the Durham defence, finding Smith on his inside to canter in for a well-worked score.

In truth, after that early Durham pressure, they only times they gained a foothold near the Exeter line in the first period came from EURFC errors. With fifteen minutes on the clock, they stole the ball at the ruck and hacked through, only for Charlie McCaig to track back and cover off the danger.

A second Exeter try soon followed. With play back in the Durham half, Will Yarnell and Arthur Relton combined down the shortside, before the ball was recycled through the pack, Jacob Morris crossing after several initial surges from the forwards.

With half an hour on the clock, Durham’s pack slowly started to roll through the gears, with poor discipline from EURFC, gifting them the perfect position from which to set the rolling maul. After several failed bites at the cherry, captain Fred Davies eventually bundled the ball over the line.

Exeter’s response was almost immediate, again coming from strong work from Yarnell and Relton on the shortside. After they had taken play into the Durham 22, the ball was worked wide to Eddie Bullock, who was tackled metres from the line. The ball was then recycled, with fly half Josh Barton popping up with a forward-esque finish, to burrow over from close range.

With half-time approaching, Durham again asked questions of the Exeter defence, only for Arthur Thomas to come up with a timely turnover to save his side.

HALF-TIME: DURHAM UNIVERSITY 5-17 EXETER UNIVERSITY

Durham made three changes at the interval, and it seemed to do the trick, as they came racing out of the blocks. With Exeter’s defence struggling to cope with their ferocious speed, replacement Patrick Bishop slotted a penalty to reduce the gap.

Exeter’s lineout began to capitulate as the pressure continued to build and it was from here that Durham were able to build a foothold. As the hosts looked to attack through wing Tom Fletcher, flanker Toby Smith, who was impressive on his first start, popped up with a timely hit to force a turnover.

That respite didn’t last long though, as Durham continued to ask serious questions of the EURFC defence. They were almost in again as the match approached the hour mark, Fletcher again asking questions on the wing, only for the final pass to bobble into touch.

Eventually though, the Durham pressure told and unsurprisingly, the try again came from the driving maul.

After Dan John was penalised for taking the man out in the air, Patrick Bishop drilled his side into the corner with a pinpoint kick. From there, there was only going to be one outcome, as Fred Davies added his second of the evening off the back of the maul, to cut the gap to four points.

With fifteen minutes left, Exeter finally found themselves within the Durham 22 and, after a breakdown penalty, extended their lead back to seven points through a Josh Barton penalty.

Sadly though, this was to be as good as it got for Exeter, as Durham levelled proceedings on the seventy-minute mark.

After Exeter were caught behind the gain line, Durham centre Olly Walker pounced upon the bobbling ball to hack through and score under the posts, Bishop’s conversion leaving things finely poised at 20-all.

Fullback Benjy Joseland was injured during the phase, having to be helped from the pitch after the conversion.

Durham were in control now. With the clock ticking towards the eighty-minute mark, Exeter were penalised for going off their feet on halfway, allowing Durham to camp themselves in the 22.

As the clock inched towards the red, the Durham pack drew a penalty out of Exeter at the maul, Bishop slotting the penalty in the game’s final act, to secure a comeback victory that sparked jubilant celebrations for the hosts.

For Exeter, it was a disappointing blow, having led by a fair margin at half-time. It was also one that you would hope and expect the side to learn from, before they return to the home comforts of Topsham next Wednesday to take on Cardiff University.