Premiership: Wasps 23-27 Exeter Chiefs - Jonny Hill scores bonus point try for visitors

Exeter's Facundo Cordero's pace beat Marcus Watson all ends up as the winger scored the pick of the tries

Exeter won their third game in a row as a strong second-half showing secured victory over a battling Wasps side.

Henry Slade and a stunning Facundo Cordero try put Exeter in the driving seat before Wasps hit back through Dan Frost and Cardiff-bound Thomas Young to lead 20-15 at the break.

Jimmy Gopperth stretched the advantage to 23-15 with 20 minutes left before Exeter's relentless pressure told.

Sam Simmonds powered over before Jonny Hill's bonus point try sealed the win.

Gopperth and Slade exchanged early penalties before the hosts were reduced to 14 men when Josh Bassett was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Tom Hendrickson.

They were seconds from seeing out the sin-bin period unscathed when Slade finished off a move started by a Dave Ewers break to put the Chiefs 8-6 up after the first quarter.

Exeter's Argentine wing Cordero then showed lightning pace to sprint around Marcus Watson near the touchline and race away for his sixth try in 18 Premiership matches, with Slade adding the extras to make it 15-6.

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That prompted Wasps to turn to the power game often associated with their opponents, hitting the Chiefs with a quickfire double with Frost and Young both scoring from driving mauls to give their side a 20-15 half-time lead.

Rob Baxter's Chiefs came out firing in the second period and went close several times as Wasps desperately defended their own line before Luke Cowan-Dickie's fumble released the pressure valve, albeit only momentarily.

Exeter came back again and a series of penalties near the line saw Frost sin-binned 10 minutes into the second half, but the Chiefs knocked-on again when well-placed and Wasps' lead remained intact.

Gopperth's unerring boot stretched Wasps' lead out to 23-15 but Exeter went straight back up the other end where Simmonds showed his signature pace and power to drive over and Slade's conversion reduced the lead to one point.

Relentless Exeter kept their foot on the pedal and a tiring Wasps defence was unable to cope with the continuous pressure, which resulted in the ball being recycled wide to Hill who dived over with 13 minutes remaining to secure a third win on the bounce.

Wasps head coach Lee Blackett told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:

"I'm really gutted because sometimes for the amount of effort you put in you don't get the reward you deserve and I think the effort was there to see it just needed a victory to back it up.

"You're playing against a team that have been to a lot of finals, European champions, so you know they're going to have moments in games and they're going to take some of their chances.

"In the first half we had quite a lot of opportunities in their 22 but the second half we never seemed to get outside our half but we showed some real good fight close to the line. The effort I've got to applaud and if we keep backing that up we'll get wins."

Exeter head coach Ali Hepher told BBC Radio Devon:

"Over the years we've had some ding dong games and today was nothing different. I'm really pleased with the way we started and we took our opportunities very well, found the space and finished those tries off really well so that was pleasing.

"But the thing we've got to really look at is when we get beyond one score we just sit back a little bit and you can't do that in the Premiership against good sides. Wasps put us under serious pressure and the way they defended was phenomenal.

"I was pleased with the way we adjusted in the second half and we found a way to win, it was a little bit ugly, it wasn't perfect, but we definitely fought it out and that spirit came through to get us that win which probably wasn't there a couple of weeks ago."

Wasps: Watson; Kibirige, Le Bourgeois, Gopperth, Bassett; Umaga, Robson; Hislop, Frost, Toomaga-Allen, Fifita, Stooke, Shields (capt), Young, T Willis.

Replacements: Harrison, Harris, Scholtz, Cardall, Carr, Hougaard, Simonds, Crossdale.

Exeter: Hogg; Nowell, Slade (capt), Hendrickson, Cordero; H Skinner, Maunder; Hepburn; Cowan-Dickie, Williams, McCauley, Hill, Ewers, Capstick, S Simmonds.

Replacements: Yeandle, Keast, Nixon, Witty, Armand, Hidalgo-Clyne, J Simmonds, O'Flaherty.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU).

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