EXETER — Exeter Chiefs came from behind to claim their first win of the new PREM Rugby season, beating Newcastle Red Bulls 34-28 at Sandy Park on Sunday after trailing 21-19 at half-time.
The Devonians made a flying start when Ross Vintcent opened the scoring after just 38 seconds with Exeter's first touch, following a charge-down of a clearing kick, but Newcastle led at the break thanks to two tries from Christian Wade and another from Max Hicks, with Vintcent and Henry Slade replying for the hosts. The sides exchanged the lead twice early in the second half as Sam Harris went over for Exeter before Wade completed his hat-trick, only for Slade's boot to edge Chiefs back in front in the 64th minute and Bachuki Tchumbadze to seal victory with a late try.
The contest played out in front of a subdued crowd of 7,071 inside the 15,000-capacity Sandy Park — just 47% full — with the North Stand closed for a league fixture. Those present made plenty of noise, but the atmosphere lacked its usual edge, with attention elsewhere dominated by football at Anfield and even the 119-point thriller at Northampton struggling for national cut-through. This fixture kicked off an hour before the Premier League clash on Merseyside.
Exeter's scrum proved decisive and repeatedly dragged them out of trouble. The starting front row of Ethan Burger, Jack Yeandle and Josh Iosefa-Scott had the measure of their opponents and won a string of penalties, while replacements Will Goodrick-Clarke, Louie Gulley and try-scorer Tchumbadze revved things up further after the break. The set-piece has quickly become a key weapon for Chiefs, both in the starting unit and off the bench.
Newcastle, despite defeat, continue to show significant progress and look far more connected than in their opening two outings. Aside from the scrum battle where they were second best, their pack went well across the 80 minutes, defended resolutely and carried plenty of attacking intent with well-executed strike plays in the wide channels. Head coach Dan McFarland had described the project as a start-up in pre-season after 26 new signings and an almost entirely new coaching group, but the Red Bulls are clicking. The match finished with 62 points in total — 40 by half-time after scores of 14-12 after 14 minutes and 19-14 after 30 — another sign the PREM is becoming an attack-first league.