Bath have signed Finn Russell on a reported seven-figure salary for next season and this narrow loss in Devon underlined exactly why they were keen to land the game-breaking Scotland fly-half. With a bit more creativity and ambition the visitors might have driven back home for Christmas with a result to savour but, ultimately, they lacked the killer finish to prevent the Chiefs from claiming a seventh straight victory in this fixture.
To say there was a lack of festive glitter sprinkled on Bath’s one-dimensional, box kick-dominated gameplan would be an understatement, their tactical approach so limited that Russell is probably best advised not to watch the highlights. In fairness Johann van Graan’s suffocating tactics did push a relieved Chiefs side right to the end but it will be fascinating to see how much licence his new playmaker is permitted when the latter finally arrives at the Rec.
It can only be hoped the Scottish international managed to persuade his new boss that a little more flair and innovation would be mutually beneficial. Omar Mouneimne, Exeter’s defence coach, knows Van Graan well from South Africa and reckons he and Russell will meet somewhere in the middle. “Johann’s a good character, he has good values and I think they’ll find a middle point they both believe in. He’s brought Finn in because he knows they need to evolve. He wouldn’t bring Finn in to strangle him.”
Bath supporters, on this evidence, will be wishing Russell could be parachuted into their squad immediately. The finer details of this underwhelming game will be forgotten before the Boxing Day sales start and the first half, in particular, was a desperately tough watch. Not that the Chiefs will care unduly. They are back up into the top half of the Premiership table, tries by Dave Ewers and Henry Slade maintaining their unbroken run of success over their West Country opponents since 2019.
Had Bath nicked a win right at the end, though, Exeter could not have complained too loudly. Having led 20-10 entering the final quarter, they allowed Bath back into the contest via a close-range try from Neil Annett and experienced more than a few late jitters before a last-gasp turnover on their own line denied the visitors anything more than a losing bonus point.
Bath, who lost a dazed Tom Dunn, their captain, early on, played barely any rugby but did increasingly manage to dictate the pace of a game which seldom touched great heights of sophistication. Sam Underhill, fit after a lengthy layoff, enjoyed an energetic hour back at the coalface and, with his help, the visitors frustrated, squeezed and suffocated Exeter with their defensive solidity, strength around the fringes and a decent kick chase.
The first half was particularly hard work. Not content with hoofing it into the clouds from their own half, the visitors even opted to box-kick 25 metres from the Exeter try-line, clearly looking to avoid the fast-paced, multi-phase contest in which the Chiefs specialise. For anyone reared on Bath’s high-octane attacking rugby in the 1980s, though, it was dispiriting stuff.
It made for a stop-start half, dominated territorially by the hosts, whose interval lead was fully deserved. Although Bath scored the opening try through Joe Cokanasiga, courtesy of a neat tap-down by a leaping Orlando Bailey out wide, the Chiefs’ forwards were in purposeful mood and there was no stopping the recently prolific Ewers from close range after 16 minutes.
It was a credit to Bath’s well-organised defence, however, that it took a charged-down box-kick on the visitors’ line eight minutes before half-time to put Exeter in the box seat. Slade was the grateful scorer but the orgy of sluggish ball and aerial ping pong continued into the second half. When a downcast Cameron Redpath went off injured after 54 minutes some in the press box were wondering whether he might be suffering from chronic boredom.
Then again, winning games of modern professional rugby is seldom about beauty or grace. Bath’s modus operandi may not stretch the imagination unduly but they have spent long enough in the league’s basement this season to know the value of a spirited away performance at this time of year.
In the end Annett’s try was not quite enough to tilt the balance but at least his side are considerably harder to beat than they were three months ago. “We didn’t quite capitalise in that second half when we probably should have done,” admitted their international centre Ollie Lawrence. “That’s disappointing but hopefully we’ll bounce back against Newcastle next week.”
