Nerves shredded. Relief… palpable. Up against West Country rivals Bath again… Down to the final play again, EURFC left it late, to pinch a 30-26 victory at home.

Both played their part in a thriller at Topsham as history repeated itself, Arthur Thomas scoring a try in the final seconds of the match, to snatch the victory away from Bath for the second time this season and keep Exeter’s title charge on track by the narrowest of margins.

After a rapid start, it was Exeter University that brought the fire, Arthur Relton scoring after just 8.81 seconds for the fastest recorded try in BUCS Super Rugby history. Two more quick fire scores followed from Tom Hitchcock and Jordan Bond, before Bath responded through Max Keller. Dan John then guaranteed his side the try bonus point before the break, but Bath hit the front in the second half, with tries from Alfie Garside, Elis Horgan and Tom Williams. With Exeter now trailing by a point with only seconds left, they produced a miraculous Houdini act, as Thomas stretched out in the corner to score and spark scenes of celebration and sheer relief.

In truth, it was Exeter’s lack of discipline that will be the biggest cause for concern, as they received four yellow cards throughout the match and finished with 13 men on the pitch.

It all looked to be going perfectly for Exeter in the opening minutes. From Josh Barton’s kick-off, hooker John Taylor was unable to cleanly gather the ball, allowing Relton to gleefully latch onto it and race through for the opening try.

Bath had been initially shellshocked but they looked to have given themselves a foothold in the match, as they built possession and looked to play quickly in the Exeter 22. That desire to play though would ultimately cost them, as Relton intercepted a loose offload from Xavier Hastings to sprint up the field. Whilst Cal Barrett was able to track back and haul Relton down, the wing had the presence of mind to offload to Hitchcock to race over.

Exeter were carving Bath apart at will now and, with just 8 minutes on the clock, they were in for their third of the afternoon. After Max Bliss had scythed through the Bath defence and fed Relton, the ball was fizzed wide to fellow wing Bond, to gather and dot down for his fourth BUCS Super Rugby try of the season.

There was no let-up from the home side, as Bliss continued to find space in the Bath defence at will. His initial bust allowed Barton to then weave through the Bath defensive line. With Will Yarnell and Thomas on his inside, the fly half was unable to find either with the try line begging.

That let-off seemed to allow Bath to work up a head of steam, as they continued to chip away in attack. With George Worboys controlling things from 10, releasing captain Ed Ashcroft from inside his own 22. For Exeter though, there was relief, as Dan John raced back to make the tackle and force the turnover.

The physicality of Exeter’s defence was a prominent feature for the rest of the half, with hooker Chris Moore sending players backwards for fun in the contact. That physicality was beginning to take its toll on the visitors, as they lost four players in just over five minutes to injury.

Whilst the defensive effort was impressive, Exeter’s penalty count wasn’t, as it allowed Worboys to continue to kick his side to within sight of the EURFC line.

With five minutes of the half to go, Bath finally made Exeter play for their ill-discipline, as replacement hooker Keller bundled over from the back of the maul to open his side’s account.

Exeter’s discipline was really causing concern now and they were down to 14 a minute later, as Thomas saw yellow for a late tackle on Alex Clayton.

EURFC would finally secure their bonus point score though right on half-time, as John danced through the defensive line to dot down, Barton converting.

HALF-TIME: EXETER UNIVERSITY 22-5 BATH UNIVERSITY

In the second half, discipline again cost Exeter. No sooner had Thomas returned to the pitch, Fin Richardson was walking to the sideline for 10 minutes after an indiscretion at the breakdown.

With Bath starting to turn the screw, Rahul Patel found Alfie Garside on a short line to crash over under posts, Worboys reducing the gap to 10 points.

The Bath fly half was starting to find the form that had seen him win Player of the Match against Exeter earlier in the season, as he cut through the defence and continued to ask questions. Fortunately for the home side, Tom Addison came up with a crucial turnover, before applying the pressure to replacement scrum half Ellis Horgan, as he knocked on over his own try line.

The pack though were unable to make the pressure count, as they were penalised for holding on next to the tryline.

Pressure was building now on Exeter, but they were able to stretch the lead with little over 10 minutes to go thanks to an Alec Lloyd-Seed penalty.
The drama was just about to go up a level though. Despite leading, Exeter were still not in control of the match and received their third yellow card of the match as John was given his marching orders for a high tackle.

It could have been much worse for Exeter though, as a superb tracking tackle from Bond stopped Garside from racing over for his second try of the afternoon.

Bath were still piling on the pressure and Exeter would finish the match with 13 men, as Jared Williams was sent to the bin for not releasing at the breakdown.

The visitors continued to keep themselves within sight of the line and, despite the best efforts of John Bailey and Olly White in defence, scrum half Horgan manage to wriggle over under the posts, Worboys again converting to close the gap to six points.

EURFC were desperate to wrestle back momentum, but it wasn’t coming their way, as lack of discipline continued to give Bath much-needed field position.

With 90 seconds remaining, Tom Williams cut a line off Worboys to step his way through under the posts. The fly half then converted to give his side a one-point lead with seconds left, but the drama wasn’t over yet.

From the restart, Relton was penalised for taking the man in the air, but Bath miscued their lineout on halfway, allowing EURFC a final opportunity to steal the game.

With the clock well in the red, Cameron Bullard broke through into the Bath 22, with quick ball allowing Niall Armstrong and Charlie McCaig to feed Thomas, with the second row stretching out like a giraffe to ground in the corner and seal it at the death, to spark scenes of relief and celebration.

Make no mistake, this was far from a vintage performance, with the lack of discipline a factor that must be swiftly addressed. For Exeter though, it was a result that could ultimately prove crucial, as the five points kept EURFC right on the heels of Durham at the top of the table.