Tommy Reffell snatches comeback win for 14-man Leicester at Exeter

Leicester are hoping Michael Cheika will guide them back to the sunlit uplands and their luck is already starting to change. With the clock already in the red it seemed Exeter had done enough to secure a hard-earned victory only for one last rumbling close-range lineout drive to produce a winning score for the Wales flanker Tommy Reffell despite a red card for Solomone Kata having reduced the visitors to 14 men in the final quarter.

The former Wallaby head coach will be delighted by the resilience his side showed in staying in a contest that had seemed lost when Chiefs led 14-3 with less than 18 minutes left. The Tigers were far from spectacular but their lineout and maul went well all day while Exeter were ultimately guilty of not finishing off their opponents when they had the chance.

It had seemed that second-half tries from Greg Fisilau and Tom Cairns would maintain the Chiefs’ record of not losing at home on the opening weekend of a Premiership campaign, particularly when Kata saw red after 71 minutes. Instead of shutting up shop, however, Chiefs unnecessarily threw away possession in their opponents’ half and, with Will Haydon-Wood sent to the sin-binn late on, they left themselves wide open to the final sucker punch.

It was by no means a classic but Leicester will not be remotely bothered. Cheika has coached all over the world and won trophies in both hemispheres but Sandy Park is not a straightforward venue. You could graze a sizeable flock of sheep in the in-goal areas and, even on a lovely sunny afternoon, the breeze can be capricious. On the opening day of last season Saracens shipped 65 points in Devon, swept aside by a surging black-shirted tide.

This time, in the absence of a couple of their heavier-duty forwards, Exeter’s plan was similar: to lift the tempo and run the visitors around. Leicester, for their part, wanted their powerful centres to run hard and straight and to test out the Chiefs’ defensive resilience. Cheika’s pre-match rallying cry – “We’re playing for real money now” – left little to the imagination.

Exeter, having run out to the thunder of beating drums, also had to contend with a clutch of early misfortunes. Centre Ben Hammersley failed a head injury assessment initially picked up by his ‘smart’ mouthguard, Ethan Roots also required a lengthy check and scrum-half Niall Armstrong lasted 24 minutes before departing with a leg injury.

Even so it was the home side who made most of the early running. On a couple of occasions Immanuel Feyi-Waboso came close to breaking free and it required a fine tackle from Freddie Steward to stop a promising break by Joe Hawkins. A clever inside pass also sent Ross Vintcent surging clear, the Italian international only denied by a desperate flapping arm from Izaia Perese five metres out.

Izaia Perese was not enjoying the most comfortable of debuts even before he received a yellow card for taking out Armstrong’s replacement, Tom Cairns, after a quick tap. Exeter’s captain, Scott Sio, was then adjudged to have been held up over the Tigers line before strong work from Nicky Smith frustrated the ensuing five-metre scrum.

With Josh Hodge having already seen a penalty rebound off an upright and Feyi-Waboso opting not to give a potential try-scoring inside ball to Olly Woodburn, Exeter’s pressure was requiring Leicester to make a lot of tackles without earning any scoreboard reward. A scoreless first 40 minutes looked inevitable until, with the final kick of the half, Jamie Shillcock slid over a low-flying drop-goal to give Tigers an unexpected lead.

The warm fuzzy feeling did not last long. Feyi-Waboso again threatened down the right and a final pop pass out of the tackle put Fisilau over, with Hodge converting nicely. Suddenly Chiefs had their tails up and from another close-range ruck, the alert Cairns dummied his way over.

Little did anyone guess the drama was only just beginning. Hanro Liebenberg gave the Tigers a glimmer of hope with a close-range maul score and, despite the departure of Kata for making contact with the head of Jack Yeandle, it was the low-slung Reffell and a beaming Cheika who had the last laugh.