Exeter are level on points with Wasps atop the table, but Chiefs coach Rob Baxter is still not happy with his side’s performance in coming back to beat a battling Sale Sharks.
Two AJ MacGinty penalties and a Denny Solomona try gave Sale an early lead, but Kai Horstmann replied for Chiefs only for another double from the Sharks fly-half to further stretch their lead.
Luke Cowan-Dickie kept Chiefs within touching distance just before the break and Ollie Woodburn further closed the gap early in the second half with a Henry Slade penalty finally putting Exeter ahead.
MacGinty kicked two more penalties but a Don Armand try was enough for Exeter to claim the win and the bonus point.
With his side trailing for the majority of the game, though, Baxter wants a reaction from his players when they return to Premiership action against Bristol, in a fortnight’s time.
“I can’t be happy at us playing at that level and we need to shake ourselves up for the remainder the season,” he said.
“We were disrupted in the first half and threw careless passes, which made it difficult for ourselves – and had we not scored just before interval the mountain may have been too high to climb.
“Perhaps after winning at Leicester we were riding on the crest of the wave but this was a real wake-up call for us as Sale have worried us down there in the past and we weren’t ready for them.
“We had the Anglo-Welsh Cup to think about in the interim and perhaps we got slightly the wrong focus by tilting too much towards those games.”
Conversely, losing coach Steve Diamond left Sandy Park pleased with his side’s efforts despite losing a 12th match of the season.
Sharks lost 32-12 at home to Northampton Saints last time out in the league, and while Diamond was pleased with their performance, he still wants to see a win to draw them away from the bottom two.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t win the game but I’m satisfied with the bonus point as we had a blip against Northampton in our last league game, when we didn’t turn up,” he said.
“Exeter are a good side and the try we conceded just before half-time was probably crucial but we made a couple of basic errors at vital times.
“I’m pleased we stopped them playing as they thought they could just kick to the corners and score but our line-out defence was very good and I’m happy that we had them thinking outside the box.
“Denny Solomona is a world class finisher, that’s why he scored 40 tries in Super League last season. He’s great at taking opportunities and is a bright spark for rugby union.
“AJ MacGinty has settled in well and his goal-kicking was superb. He also showed excellent composure at the end to set up the opportunity to get us a bonus point.”
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