Bath 40-34 Exeter Chiefs: Finn Russell Steers an 11-Try Thriller at the Rec
- 🔑 Bath beat Exeter Chiefs 40-34 at The Recreation Ground on Friday 2 October 2026 in round two of the Gallagher Prem, scoring five tries plus a penalty try to Exeter’s five. Bath led 26-10 at half-time and held on after a second-half Exeter surge.
- Exeter scored three unanswered tries after the break, through Josh Iosefa-Scott and an Immanuel Feyi-Waboso double, to lead 31-26 after trailing by 16 points. Feyi-Waboso carried more than 130 metres and beat eight defenders, according to match data reported afterwards, yet finished on the losing side.
- The turning point was Stephen Varney’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, which gave Bath a penalty try and a 33-31 lead. While Exeter were a player short, replacement flanker Ted Hill also scored, and Bath added 14 points in that spell to reach 40-31.
- Finn Russell kicked four conversions and scored a try just before half-time that secured Bath’s bonus point, a performance Bath’s director of rugby Johann van Graan praised, calling Russell one of the best number 10s in the world. Exeter’s Henry Slade missed two first-half conversions.
- After Friday night’s game Bath topped the Gallagher Prem table with the maximum 10 points from two games, while winless Exeter took two bonus points from the game to reach three. That standing is pinned to 2 October, and no odds or win probabilities are used on this page.
- The game echoed the 2025-26 semi-final at the same ground on 13 June 2026, when Exeter came from 26-10 down to win 27-26, and the 3 January 2026 league game there, which Bath won 33-26. In each of the three, Bath built a lead of at least 16 points before Exeter fought back.
Bath beat Exeter Chiefs 40-34 at The Recreation Ground on Friday 2 October 2026 in a Gallagher Prem round-two game that produced 11 tries: five for Exeter and, counting a penalty try, six for Bath. Bath led 26-10 at half-time, Exeter hit back with three tries to go in front, and a Stephen Varney yellow card plus Bath’s bench swung it back. Early reports disagree on some details, so we reconciled the scorers against several match reports.
What was the final score of Bath v Exeter Chiefs?
Bath won 40-34 after leading 26-10 at half-time, in a 7:45pm BST kick-off on Friday 2 October 2026 shown on TNT Sports. Exeter won the second half 24-14 but could not close the gap.
| Period | Bath | Exeter |
|---|---|---|
| First half | 26 | 10 |
| Second half | 14 | 24 |
| Full time | 40 | 34 |
Who scored the tries for Bath and Exeter?
Bath’s tries came from Cam Redpath, Bernard van der Linde, Dan du Preez, Finn Russell and replacement Ted Hill, plus a penalty try, while Exeter scored through Stephen Varney, Jack Yeandle, Josh Iosefa-Scott and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who crossed twice.
- Bath (40): five tries, a penalty try and four Russell conversions. Redpath’s try came from a long-range interception of a Harvey Skinner pass, and Russell’s, just before the break, secured the bonus point.
- Exeter (34): five tries, three Henry Slade conversions and a late Skinner penalty. Slade missed two first-half conversions and hit the post with a late penalty attempt before Skinner took the kick.
How did Exeter come back from 26-10 down?
Exeter scored three tries in about a quarter of an hour after the break, turning a 16-point deficit into a 31-26 lead. Josh Iosefa-Scott went over first, then Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored twice, the second after Will Butt broke the line and passed inside. Slade converted all three, which is how Exeter reached 31. Match data cited in reports credited Feyi-Waboso with more than 130 metres carried and eight defenders beaten.
What turned the game back in Bath’s favour?
Varney’s yellow card for a deliberate knock-on gave Bath a penalty try and a 33-31 lead, and the hosts scored 14 points while Exeter were a player short. Varney put a hand out to stop a pass reaching Joe Cokanasiga as Bath attacked the corner. We report only what officials ruled: a deliberate knock-on.
Replacement flanker Ted Hill then drove through the tackles for the try that, with Russell’s conversion, made it 40-31. Reports on the game credited the Bath replacements for changing the momentum. Skinner’s late penalty cut the margin to six, enough for Exeter to take a losing bonus point.
What did the result mean for the Gallagher Prem table?
Bath moved to the top of the table after Friday night’s game, with the maximum 10 points from their first two matches, while Exeter, still without a win, took two bonus points to reach three. Exeter’s points came from scoring four or more tries and from losing by fewer than eight. Reports say Exeter ended the game by kicking the ball out to protect the losing bonus point.
That standing is pinned to Friday 2 October 2026. Most clubs had played only once, and the rest of round two was scheduled for 3 and 4 October, so check the league’s own table for anything more recent.
Why did this meeting carry extra weight?
It was a rematch of the 2025-26 semi-final at the same ground on 13 June 2026, when Exeter came from 26-10 down to win 27-26 and moved on to the final against Northampton. Earlier, on 3 January 2026, Bath had won 33-26 at the Rec with a last-play try from Arthur Green after Exeter recovered from 26-0 down.
Friday’s game followed the same shape: Bath racing clear, Exeter fighting back, but this time Bath held on. Both sides arrived after round-one results: Bath beat Harlequins 33-17 on 25 September, while Exeter lost 24-45 at home to Gloucester on 26 September.
What did the coaches say after the game?
Bath’s director of rugby Johann van Graan praised Finn Russell’s decision-making, while Exeter’s Rob Baxter said he was pleased with his side’s effort and backed Henry Slade after the missed kicks. Van Graan called Russell “one of the best 10s in the world”. Baxter said the performance gave Exeter a foundation to build on, and that Slade is too good a kicker for one poor night to become an issue.
The scoreline is final: Bath 40, Exeter Chiefs 34. Everything we say about the table is a snapshot of Friday night.