Exeter Chiefs consolidated their position at the top of the table after securing a 31-17 victory over Wasps at Sandy Park on Sunday.
With this being a repeat of the 2016/17 Premiership Final and with both teams sitting at the top of the table ahead of this weekend's round of fixtures, there was lots of hype around this match.
But unlike last season's final, this was a one-sided affair with Exeter gradually taking control of proceedings and they eventuall youtscored their visitors five tries to three with Olly Woodburn leading the way with a deserved brace which he scored in the first half.
The match started with a bang when Woodburn went over in the corner for his first try, in the ninth minute, after brilliant work from Gareth Steenson and Lachie Turner in the build-up.
Wasps were soon level – Ashley Johnson setting off on a barnstorming run before crossing the whitewash. Jimmy Gopperth added the extras, and he made it 10-5 to the visitors thanks to a penalty midway through the half.
That was the last time Wasps would score points during the half as Exeter finished stronger and scored 19 unanswered points before the interval.
First, Dave Dennis crossed the whitewash in the 20th minute, after an impressive lineout move inside Wasps' 22, before Don Armand powered over the visitors' try-line five minutes later.
And just before half-time, Henry Slade did well to put Woodburn in the clear before the flyer crossed for his second try.
The second half was a tight affair and we had to wait until the hour-mark for the first points of the half – Shaun Malton crossing over after fine work from his fellow forwards in the build-up.
That try sealed the Chiefs' win but, to their credit, Wasps did not surrender and were rewarded shortly afterwards when a Joe Simpson break was rounded off by Josh Bassett.
The scorers:
For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Woodburn 2, Dennis, Armand, Malton
Cons: Steenson 3
For Wasps:
Tries: Johnson, Bassett
Cons: Gopperth 2
Pens: Gopperth
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Nic White, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Carl Rimmer
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Julian Salvi, 21 Stuart Townsend, 22 Tom Hendrickson, 23 Max Bodilly
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Juan De Jongh, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Matt Symons, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Jack Willis, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Brendan Macken, 23 Marcus Watson
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley, Simon McConnell
TMO: Graham Hughes
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