Exeter Chiefs stung by dramatic Bristol fightback

Exeter Chiefs remain second from bottom and seeking their first league victory after suffering late heartbreak in a fabulous Westcountry derby with Bristol Bears.

A sensational hat-trick from Bristol’s Gabriel Ibitoye was enough to earn the visitors a 40-35 victory at Sandy Park after the Chiefs had led 15-12 at half-time, Paul Brown-Bampoe and the impressive Immanuel Feyi-Waboso dotting down for Exeter.

The Chiefs extended their lead to 32-12, with Brown-Bampoe and Feyi-Waboso both scoring again, but everything changed when Dan Frost was sin-binned with 15 minutes left on the clock.

Incredibly, Bristol sored three tries in the space of four chaotic minutes. A penalty from Josh Hodge restored the Exeter lead but Ibitoye had the final word, surging through a beleaguered Chiefs’ defence to win the match for the Bears.

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon: "We're close to being a very good team, but the bit that we've got to get right is probably the hardest bit in professional sport, which is holding your composure together under pressure and not multiplying issues.

"We had a lot of players multiplying issues today. It's not because they don't want to win, it's not because they don't care, I know that, but they've got to be able to just clear their heads sometimes and just do the right things.

"It was a little bit scary watching us after that yellow card. Some of the lads will look at me, and I swear they will be saying 'I don’t know what I did'.

"Some of it was a little bit silly, almost, but we're not going to move on until we take responsibility."