By full-time, you could sense that the relief was palpable. This was most certainly a case of winning ugly, but for EURFC it mattered little, as they edged out Hartpury 19-16 at Topsham, to secure a semi-final berth.

Having trailed 10-0 in the early exchanges, Exeter hit back with tries from Arthur Relton, Arthur Thomas and Archie Hosking, with Alec Lloyd-Seed adding two conversions.

Ahead of kick-off, this really felt like the first day of spring, as a sun-kissed Topsham prepared to host its first BUCS Super Rugby knockout match since 2019.

EURFC had finished the league season in chastising fashion, with tough lessons learnt from a defeat away at Cardiff Met.

The side insisted thought that they would be better for it and, ahead of kick-off EURFC were able to welcome back Fin Richardson and Will Yarnell to the fold.

Early doors, it was the visitors who were enjoying the majority of possession and territory, as they set about looking to impose their kicking game on Exeter.

As scrum half Harry Gipson looked to kick from the base of the ruck, the long, outstretched arm of Thomas was able to charge him down, with the ball bouncing into touch.

The aerial battle was continuing apace, with Hartpury still enjoying the better of the action and earning an attacking lineout deep inside Exeter’s 22.

Fortunately for Exeter, Sam Higginson, on his first start in BUCS Super Rugby was able to steal the ball at the lineout, allowing Lloyd-Seed to relieve the pressure.

EURFC were still yet to fire a shot, as Hartpury continued to apply the pressure, but their first opportunity would come as Dan John looked to break free down the wing. The centre then looked to release Jordan Bond on his outside but was unable to find him as a Hartpury tackle forced a knock-on.

Exeter were on red alert shortly after, as Ollie Holliday slipped a tackle and burst free through the middle of the park. With the wing hurtling towards the line, it was only a last-ditch tackle from John that would deny him the score.

EURFC though, would infringe at the next breakdown, with Brandon Wood slotting the penalty to open the scoring.

With nearly 20 minutes on the clock, Exeter finally managed to secure possession within the Hartpury 22, as the visitors were penalised for not releasing.

Whilst the lineout would go astray, EURFC were finally beginning to up the physicality and intensity, but they would be hit with a sucker punch shortly after, as Hartpury crossed for the first try of the afternoon.

Again, it came from quick ball and a missed tackle, as Joe Howard broke free and released scrum half Gipson to race in under the posts.

The EURFC response though was a fast one, as they worked their way up the field after the visitors were penalised for holding on.

This time, the lineout worked to perfection, but EURFC were unable to open their account, as Hartpury managed to disrupt the maul as it looked to rumble over.

Exeter were keeping the pressure on though, with Hosking and Tom Hitchcock at the centre of their latest attack.

Hartpury would then lose Josiah Edwards-Giraud to the sin bin on the half hour mark, with EURFC continuing to hammer away at the Hartpury line.

With Jordan Bond looking lively on the right wing, he found fellow winger Relton in space, with the England U20 international hauled down just short of the line.

He wouldn’t be kept out for long though, as he got his side on the board soon after, after a fizzing pass from Lloyd-Seed, who added the conversion.

With half-time fast approaching, Exeter were keen to make sure they hit the front heading into the break, and did just that as Thomas crashed over from close range.

This was some score though, that started with John floating the ball wide to Relton to break free from his own 22. With Exeter playing the width, Bond then managed to offload to captain Olly White, as EURFC closed in on the try line. From there, it was simply a case of numbers, with Thomas barrelling over to take his side into the lead for the first time.

HALF-TIME SCORE: EXETER UNIVERSITY 12-10 HARTPURY UNIVERSITY

EURFC looked to up the tempo after half-time, with a huge tackle from replacement Charlie McCaig setting the tone.

With the momentum now firmly with them, Exeter stretched their legs with a third try of the afternoon. It was a glorious score as well, with John bursting free in midfield and feeding inside to the onrushing Hosking to race clear, Lloyd-Seed again adding the conversion.

Hartpury though, are a different beast in knockout rugby and they refused to lie down, with Edwards-Giraud finding space on the wing.

Up front though, Exeter were beginning to flex their muscles, with a timely scrum penalty setting up an opportunity in the Hartpury 22.

Exeter were unable to convert again though, as the ball was stripped on the try line. The pressure was still on the visitors though and, after Will Yarnell secured a penalty, Lloyd-Seed looked to increase his side’s advantage.

The fly half was unsuccessful with his penalty attempt though and Hartpury looked to counter, only for Jared Williams to force Stan Norman into touch, just as the winger looked to break free.

Consecutive penalties would haunt Exeter as the game entered its final 20 minutes, with Wood slotting his second penalty of the match to reduce the deficit to just six points.

The gap would close to three moments later, as Wood again slotted another penalty, this time from the halfway line.

Danger was in the air now for Exeter, with the game tantalisingly poised heading into the final 10 minutes.

The danger was amplified when replacement Owen Randell burst through down the shortside. The replacement scrum half looked for all money to be about to score, only for Thomas to strip the ball as he looked to score.

Exeter then played with caution to the wind, as Tom Hitchcock and Relton launched a long-range attack from within their own 22. With Relton hauled down in the Hartpury 22 and with the visitors scrambling, McCaig looked to chip cross field to Matt Cook, but the second row was unable to stretch his giant frame to gather possession.

The pressure was still on for both sides, with all in attendance knowing that any score before full time would win the match.

With all hands to the pump, it was EURFC who held their nerve, with a brutal defensive set forcing a knock-on from Hartpury on halfway, with Armstrong booting the ball into touch to seal the victory.

This was a full-blown battle royale at Topsham, with two sides going hammer and tong for 80, relentless minutes.

The challenges don’t stop here though for Exeter, with a potential redemption day against Cardiff Met next up in the semi-final, as the green and whites look to avenge their round 18 defeat at Cyncoed and secure a place in the final at Sixways.