Exeter Chiefs vs Saracens report: Sarries storm back to take firm grip at summit

Exeter Chiefs 11 Saracens 14

Jim Hamilton claims the line out ball ahead of Lewis Stevenson and Luke Cowan-Dickie (Getty Images)

Saracens scored 14 unanswered points as they overhauled second-placed Exeter Chiefs to win 14-11 at Sandy Park, with their director of rugby, Mark McCall, claiming the win was entirely deserved as his team moved five points clear at the top of the Premiership.

Former Saracens wing James Short opened the scoring with a try for the Chiefs, who added two penalties from the boot of Irish fly-half Gareth Steenson after he missed the conversion.

But Saracens battled back with a try from Italy No 8 Samu Vunisa just before half-time, and former England fly-half Charlie Hodgson completed the turnaround with three penalties of his own.

“If we had lost that one, I would have said it was one that got away as we had much the better of possession and territory, but they defended very well,” McCall said.

“We were 11-0 down playing against the strong wind, but we didn’t deserve to be and Vunisa’s try just before the interval was crucial as we went in only six points down.”

Exeter head coach Rob Baxter was not too disheartened with the loss. He said: “The result is not the be-all and end-all as we are still second in the Premiership. Overall, our performance was pretty good as we just lost a game, late in the day, against a very good side.”

Worcester director of rugby Dean Ryan admitted his team were in a relegation scrap as London Irish closed the gap to the 10th-placed Warriors to just one point after beating them 20-13 at the Madejski Stadium.

“This was the opportunity to put some space between us and we missed it, so we’re in the fight and, if I’m honest, the other two sides have probably got the momentum at the moment,” said Ryan.