It was Exeter University who left Durham feeling the Christmas blues, as they secured a last-gasp 20-18 victory at Topsham, to end the visitors’ unbeaten run and breathe new life into the BUCS Super Rugby title race.

Despite trailing 10-0 at the interval, EURFC rallied in the second half, as tries from Charlie McCaig, Jordan Bond and Tom Hitchcock, along with a 79th minute penalty from Alec Lloyd-Seed secured the tightest of victories.

Heading into this encounter, Exeter had been buoyed by victories over Swansea and Northumbria at home, but Durham posed an altogether different threat at Topsham.

With so much riding on the outcome of this encounter, both teams would have been forgiven for keeping it tight in the opening exchanges.

There wasn’t to be any of that though, as it was Durham who posed the first question, with Harry Craven bursting free in midfield, chipping through and chasing into the Exeter 22, only for Archie Hosking to tidy up in the backfield and relieve the danger.

It wouldn’t be long before Exeter’s first opportunity of the afternoon, after a brutal carry from Player of the Match Tom Eelman had put his side on the front foot. From there, scrum-half Will Yarnell spotted a gap and raced clear from his own 22, feeding Jordan Bond outside having made nearly 60m from the break.

Durham’s defence though was up to the task, as Max Pepper tracked back well to force Bond to have to cut inside, before his side won a penalty at the breakdown to clear their lines.

Exeter continued to ask questions though in attack, with Yarnell at the centre of everything good in Exeter’s game, as he broke free again into the Durham 22. EURFC continued to work their way up to the Durham line, only for the defence to again win a penalty.

It would be the visitors though who would open the scoring for the afternoon, as Durham won a penalty at the scrum, allowing Patrick Bishop to kick his side into the lead with little under 20 minutes on the clock.

When Exeter were able to get themselves into the wide channels, they continued to look dangerous, with Dan John feeding Arthur Relton who burst from halfway to within a metre of the try line, before Paul Brown managed to track back and haul the winger to ground.

Despite Durham leading on the scoreboard, Exeter were still enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory, as they continued to keep the visitors hemmed into their 22. The home side had their opportunities, but miscommunication at the lineout let Durham off the hook.

Durham have made a habit this season of scoring points when opportunities have been at a premium and they did the same here as well, as for all Exeter’s pressure, compounded penalties allowed the visitors to kick themselves to within five metres of the Exeter line.

Whilst the defence continued to hold firm, led by Eelman, the barrage of short range attacks from Durham eventually burst the dam, as second row Marijn Huis spotted a gap near the post and burst over, with Bishop adding the conversion.

Exeter continued to reimpose themselves on the match, as breaks from John and Bond, after a crossfield kick from Barton had again left the Durham defence scrambling. On each occasion though, the home side were unable to cross the line, as Durham’s defence left Exeter frustrated.

HALF-TIME: EXETER UNIVERSITY 0-10 DURHAM UNIVERSITY

Whatever was said at half-time certainly did the trick, as Exeter came out of the blocks at a rapid rate of knots, registering their first score of the afternoon just three minutes into the second half.

With Durham’s defence leaking penalties at some rate, Exeter kept the ball tight, before Josh Barton and Eelman combined, to allow Charlie McCaig to crash over.

Barton missed the conversion and several minutes later, Durham stretched their lead out to 8 points, as Bishop notched his second penalty of the afternoon, after a deliberate knock-on.

That score did little to put Exeter off of their task though, as they continued to ask questions in midfield, drawing a penalty from the Durham scrum, allowing replacement fly half Alec Lloyd-Seed to kick his side into the 22.

Durham were then penalised for not retreating 10 metres from a quickly taken penalty from Yarnell, with Lloyd-Seed putting his side 5 metres from the line.

The hits were flying in with a ferocity fitting of a top of the table encounter, but Exeter would fire the next shot, after a strong initial carry from Dafydd Jenkins. With Exeter now on the front foot, John popped up at first receiver, feeding Lloyd-Seed, who fizzed the ball wide to Bond to skate in out wide.

The fly half was unable to add the conversion, to leave Exeter still trailing on the scoreboard.

Durham then looked to showcase their power game at the maul but Chris Moore and Eelman came up with two huge tackles for their side, to fore a knock-on.

With 15 minutes remaining, Exeter hit the front, after the electric Eelman had stripped the ball in contact for his side. With Exeter now attacking with intent inside the Durham 22, Moore and Bond both went close, before Lloyd-Seed found centre Tom Hitchcock, who dived over to a huge roar from the home support.

Lloyd-Seed added the conversion, but the drama wasn’t to end there, as Durham hit back quickly.

After a second deliberate knock-on of the afternoon from Exeter allowed Bishop to take play up to halfway, the visitors came up with a slick set play, as centre Jack Reid fed Pepper and then Brown to race in for Durham to regain the lead. Crucially though, Bishop missed the conversion.

Both sides were posing questions and Exeter’s backs were well and truly against the wall, as Durham worked their way back up towards the 22, before Jared Williams popped up with a huge turnover for his side.

With 90 seconds left on the clock, the game defining moment arrived. As Exeter looked to build the phases on the Durham 10m line, the visitors saw second-row Huis strip the ball in contact, only for Exeter’s replacement scrum-half Niall Armstrong to leap into action, stripping the ball back for his side, with Huis then penalised for failing to roll away at the ruck.

With the clock ticking down, Lloyd-Seed shows nerves of steel to slot the penalty and reclaim the lead, but there was to be one last twist in the tale.
As the clock hit the red, Exeter kicked long, rather than to touch, only to then be penalised for not releasing at the breakdown, allowing Bishop to put his side 10m out from the try line.

Whilst Durham’s maul has been a weapon all season, Exeter’s back did superbly to halt them, forcing the side in Palatinate to play the ball. With Bishop patrolling the field, perhaps in search of an opportunity for the drop goal, Durham continued to go through the phases with well over two minutes of overtime played.

It would be Exeter though that were left celebrating at the final whistle, as a huge double tackle from Lloyd-Seed and Hitchcock allowed the centre to strip the ball, before booting it into touch to spark scenes of delirium and relief from those in green and white.

With just 7 games of the regular season left, the league now pauses until January, with Exeter tantalisingly poised just one point behind Durham in the standings.

Make no mistake, this was a battle royal, befitting of a top of the table clash, that breathed new life into the title race.

Attention will turn to the trip to Hartpury on 26th January, but for now, this was Exeter’s day, and university rugby at its best.