West-Country derbies rarely disappoint and last night was no different, as EURFC used up most of their lives for the season as they snatched a dramatic 29-26 victory from the jaws of defeat against Bath University.

It took until the final play of the match, but EURFC secured a fourth straight victory thanks to tries from Matt Cook, Archie Hosking, Arthur Relton and Tom Addison, Josh Barton adding nine points from the tee.

Bath though were mightily unfortunate in defeat, in a performance inspired by fly half George Worboys, who finished with a personal haul of 21 points, including a hattrick. A further score from Duncan Hood saw Bath take two points away from an encounter they will feel they should’ve won.

Playing in front of the livestream cameras for the first time this season, EURFC were keen to back up last Wednesday’s victory over Cardiff Met. Ahead of kick-off, there were a number of changes to the side, with Scott Butterworth, Matt Cook and Olly White coming into the starting XV. EURFC were also forced into a late change during the warm-up, with Harvey Dunn ruled out and Archie Owlett coming in for his first start of the season.

The opening exchanges saw both sides trying to work each other out, with Bath having the better of the play. It took until the 10th minute for EURFC to fire their first shot. A searing break from Charlie McCaig left Bath’s defence at sixes and sevens, with the centre hauled down within a metre of the line. After a series of busts from the pack, Will Yarnell looked to find a gap in the defence, only for his path to the try line to be blocked by the referee.

That let-off seemed to spur Bath into life, with their first opportunity coming as the result of an Exeter handling error in midfield.

Centre Rahul Patel cottoned onto a miscommunication from Charlie McCaig and Tom Hitchcock, racing away and feeding Alfie Garside, who looked for all money to be in for the try in the corner.

Exeter’s blushes were spared though, with arguably one of the tackles of the season from Kofi Barton-Byfield; the winger speeding across from the opposite to wing to make a superb covering tackle, Arthur Relton then tracking back, to help force Garside into touch.

Bath wouldn’t have to wait long though for their opening try, fly half Worboys cutting inside the would-be tackler and dotting down for the score, before converting his own try.

Exeter looked to respond quickly, Tom Hitchcock and Eddie Bullock combining to take play into the Bath 22, before the pack went to work near the Bath line. It had the feeling of being one of those nights for Exeter, as the normally impregnable attack around the fringes was penalised for not releasing.

Eventually though, a score would come Exeter’s way. Whilst the lineout was malfunctioning, the scrum had been a weapon throughout, and it proved so again here. A free-kick was quickly taken by Will Yarnell, feeding Archie Hosking to drive within inches of the line, before Matt Cook spotted a gap and wriggled through to open EURFC’s account for the evening, Barton converting to level proceedings.

With Exeter now looking to grow into the game, they again proved to be the architects of their own downfall, as Worboys scored his second, intercepting a telegraphed pass to race clear from 50m. However, he was unable to add the extras for his side.

Exeter were desperately seeking a way back into the match and they found it towards the end of the half, as Bath gave away a soft breakdown penalty. After opting for the scrum, Hosking picked from the base, rampaging over Worboys to score his side’s second, Barton again adding the extras to give Exeter an unlikely lead.

With the clock in the red, replacement Matt Mason saw yellow for the hosts after repeated penalty infringements, but Exeter couldn’t make the advantage count, Hosking knocking on at the base of the scrum to bring a scrappy first period to a close.

HALF-TIME SCORE: BATH UNIVERSITY 12-14 EXETER UNIVERSITY

The second-half begin in much the same vain as the first, Exeter allowing Bath into their territory with errors being compounded by errors.

It didn’t take long for Bath to score their third either, Alex Clayton bursting to within sight of the Exeter line, before Worboys was then hauled down near the touchline. Tom Carr-Smith then looked to dart over on the wing, before offloading speculatively to Duncan Hood, for the hooker to crash over, restoring his side’s advantage. Worboys added the extras, but he was to compound Exeter’s misery again moments later.
After an Exeter lineout again went astray on halfway, Ted Johnson offloaded to Clayton, who burst into the Exeter 22, offloading to his fly half to race away for his hattrick and Bath’s bonus-point score.

Exeter needed to respond quickly and again, it was the power of the scrum that gave them the opportunity, as they churned up the Bath front row. Barton slotted the simple penalty from in front of the posts, to reduce the gap to 9 points with just under half an hour left of the contest.
Approaching the hour mark, a well-worked set play off the back of a lineout saw Hosking burst into the Bath 22, only to be penalised for crawling on the floor.

That carry though, seemed to renew the intensity of the Exeter side, Charlie McCaig then bursting through from his own half into the Bath 22. Exeter then looked to build the pressure, only to then be penalised for holding on several phases later, much to the frustration of the coaching staff.

With the match approaching the final 10 minutes, Bath looked to seal the victory, Sam Mercer bursting through after an inside ball from Worboys. Fortunately for Exeter, Hosking popped up with a crucial tackle, before replacement Cameron Bullard came up with a crucial turnover.

Exeter were desperate now with the clock ticking down towards the 80-minute mark. They continued to apply the pressure to Bath’s defence, with a series of penalties from the home side gifting EURFC much-needed field position.

Off a lineout, a huge driving maul from the Exeter pack was hauled down as it motored towards the Bath try line, Cam Keys seeing yellow for collapsing it.

From the resulting lineout, the pack looked to barge their way over the line, Tom Addison being held up at the crucial moment.

From the goal line drop-out though, Exeter pounced. With Alec Lloyd-Seed controlling play at first receiver, he fed Josh Barton who burst through a gap in the Bath defence, feeding Arthur Relton to skate in out wide. Barton missed the difficult conversion, but there was still time for one final moment of magic for Exeter.

Exeter continued to attack from deep, but the chance of victory looked to have gone, when a pass out wide from Jack Potter bounced into touch.

With 30 seconds left on the clock, second-row Dafydd Jenkins came up with a huge steal at the lineout. Lloyd-Seed then kept ball in hand, as he powered up towards the Bath 22, as Exeter desperately searched for a winning score.

It came in some style too, Charlie McCaig feeding Tom Addison who picked a stunning line off the centre to break the Bath defence and dive in under the posts for the most unlikely of victories, sparking scenes of celebration and relief amongst the Exeter ranks, as they maintained the pace with Durham at the top of the table.