Exeter have been involved in some gripping European contests over the years but this extra-time thriller was up there with the best of them. The Chiefs will now have a home tie against the Stormers in this year’s Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals, courtesy of a 100th-minute try from the club captain Jack Yeandle and a conversion from Joe Simmonds which tied the scores and edged the hosts through by virtue of tries scored.

It was a fabulously exciting finale to a wild rollercoaster of a game. Chiefs had led 26-23 with just seconds of normal time remaining, only for Paolo Garbisi to slot a 50-metre penalty and extend the contest. The Montpellier replacement Louis Carbonel seemed to have snatched victory for the visitors with a try with six minutes of extra time left, only for Chiefs to mount one last surge which eventually drove the experienced Yeandle over and gave Simmonds the chance to seal the deal.

Montpellier, who had led 12-0 early on, will reflect long and hard on the 50th-minute red card shown to their England number eight Zach Mercer. They also had two tries disallowed by the television match official. Equally, though, it was impossible to ignore the character and tenacity of a reshuffled Exeter side for whom Sam Simmonds, pitted against his future employers, at times played like a man possessed.

It was Exeter’s second big extra-time win in a couple of weeks following their Premiership Cup final success over London Irish last month. The 2020 European champions performed poorly last week at Bath, though, and their director of rugby, Rob Baxter, was suitably delighted by their determination to stay in the fight. “We weren’t perfect by any means but we really looked like a team who wanted to win and work hard,” said Baxter. “I’m really pleased for the players.”

Initially there had appeared to be only one winner, as the Chiefs’ defence struggled to adjust to their opponents’ power and direct running. The former Sale and Worcester hooker Curtis Langdon, only just on as an early replacement, touched down in the left corner and it was little surprise when the visitors soon exploited more midfield space to work Vincent Rattez over on the right.

Exeter had little option but to get a grip. Baxter had made a statement by rewarding some of the fringe players involved in the Premiership Cup triumph last month and, with no shortage of points to prove, Chiefs slowly worked their way back into the contest on a cool Sunday lunchtime.

The ex-Wallaby Scott Sio rewarded a spell of territorial pressure from close range before the outstanding Sam Simmonds burst over unstoppably for exactly the kind of dynamic score that has prompted Montpellier to splash some cash and lure him away from Devon this summer.

At 15-14 down at the interval, though, there was still an awful lot for Exeter to do. Their task appeared to have become even tougher when Montpellier cranked back into life and a couple of burst tackles gave Mercer the chance to touch down wide on the right. In the buildup, though, Elliott Stooke was adjudged to have made a crucial illegal block and the score was duly disallowed.

Then came Mercer’s dismissal for a high challenge on Christ Tshiunza and, suddenly, Exeter dared to believe it could be their day. Tommy Wyatt has taken a roundabout route to this exalted stage via Taunton Titans and Cornish Pirates but the full-back’s enthusiasm is infectious and, when his big moment came after 56 minutes, he showed composure and elusiveness to finish splendidly in the left corner.

It was now a completely different game, with Montpellier having lost almost all their rhythm and momentum. With their extra man advantage it was Chiefs who now had a glint in their eye and, with 15 minutes left, Josh Iosefa-Scott rumbled over from a metre out to help extend the lead to eight points.

Another disallowed Montpellier try, this time for Thomas Darmon, and a couple of other squandered final passes ratcheted up the tension further before Lenni Nouchi’s 76th-minute try and Garbisi’s long-range heartbreaker took the game into extra time at 26-26. It seemed Montpellier might have too much savvy but, when it really mattered, a newish Exeter side dug deep and gleefully rediscovered the best of their old selves.