Exeter beat Saracens to reach play-offs and end McCall's reign

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Henry Slade's 10th try of the season put Exeter in control early in the second half [Shutterstock]

The Prem

Exeter (8) 32

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Tries: Norey, Slade, Zambonin, Varney Cons: Slade 3 Pens: Slade 2

Saracens (5) 12

Tries: Elliott, Isiekwe Con: Farrell

Exeter beat bitter rivals Saracens 32-12 to ensure a Prem play-off semi-final and end the reign of long-serving Sarries boss Mark McCall.

The victory moves Exeter up to third place in the Prem, booking a semi-final at Bath next week after they beat Leicester, who drop to fourth place.

Tobias Elliott's early try for Saracens and Henry Slade's penalty in reply looked as though they would be the only scores in a tense first half as Rotimi Segun had a try disallowed for the visitors.

But in stoppage time, Saracens scrum-half Charlie Bracken was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and Max Norey went over from a cleverly-worked line-out moments later to give Chiefs the lead at the break.

With Sarries still down to 14 men, Slade scored Exeter's second try as he got on the end of an excellent break early in the second half before kicking his second penalty.

Italy lock Andrea Zambonin made the result safe with a try with 16 minutes left as Exeter returned to the play-offs for the first time since 2021.

Nick Isiekwe went over for Saracens with eight minutes to go before Exeter scrum-half Stephen Varney earned a try-scoring bonus point two minutes from the end.

Mark McCall ends his Saracens coaching career with six Prem titles and thee European Champions Cups [Shutterstock]

For Saracens boss McCall it was one final big clash with Exeter - having done battle as the country's top two sides during the second half of the 2010s.

The outgoing Saracens boss – whose 17-year stint as director of rugby ends this season – has lost just one knockout game to the Chiefs – the 2017 Premiership semi-final – having beaten Exeter in three Twickenham showpieces between 2016 and 2020.

While not formally a knockout game, this match had the same feel with it being effectively a winner-takes-all game for a place in the semi-finals.

And with Exeter the club with most to feel aggrieved about after the salary cap scandal that saw Saracens relegated in 2020, there was a tension in the air as the sides ran out at a packed Sandy Park.

Max Norey's second try in three games gave Exeter a half-time lead [Shutterstock]

But McCall's side soon silenced the ground as Elliott dotted down in the right corner a few phases after Saracens were awarded a scrum under the Exeter posts as Harvey Skinner's clearing kick from a dead ball went out on the full.

Slade's 18th minute penalty put Exeter on the board, but they rarely ventured into Saracens territory in the first half as their attack looked like they missed influential injured duo Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Greg Fisilau, despite a strong wind at their backs.

Saracens also looked to be lacking a cutting edge until Fergus Burke's superb break put Segun in down the left flank, but replays showed the winger lost the ball as he dived over into the corner, much to the relief of the home crowd.

Exeter upped the tempo as the half came to a close, forcing Bracken to take a wild swipe at a Slade pass as the Chiefs looked to go for the line in the third minute of stoppage time.

With Bracken in the sin-bin, Slade kicked the resulting penalty to the corner, and in-form hooker Norey ended a quick-thinking move to go over.

Exeter will hope to repeat the win they had over Bath last month [Shutterstock]

Exeter again capitalised on their man advantage seven minutes into the second half – Campbell Ridl's superb break was supported by Olly Woodburn and Slade as the England centre scored his 10th Chiefs try of the season.

Slade added a penalty four minutes later as the home side visibly grew in confidence, with McCall responding by bringing on former England captain Owen Farrell and free-scoring young winger Noah Caluori with 25 minutes to go.

But they had little impact as Exeter continued to dominate possession and territory - and when they won a scrum penalty five metres from the Saracens line with 16 minutes to go, they made no mistake as Zambonin went in from close range.

Isiekwe capped off Saracens' best moment of the game as he got on the end of a flowing passing move, but it was too little too late, and Italy scrum-half Varney capitalised on a Sarries error in his own 22, kicking the ball twice down field before racing over to send Sandy Park wild.

Exeter: Woodburn; Brown-Bampoe, Slade, Ikitau, Ridl; Skinner, Varney; Sio, Norey, Iosefa-Scott, Jenkins (capt), Zambonin, Hooper, Tshiunza, Roots.

Replacements: Dweba, Burger, Tchumbadze, Tuima, James, Cairns, Wimbush, Hammersley.

Saracens: Malins; Elliott, Tompkins, Hartley, Segun; Burke, Bracken; Mawi, George, Street, Itoje (capt), Tizard, McFarland, Earl, Willis.

Replacements: Dan, Carre, Riccioni, Isiekwe, Michelow, Van Zyl, Farrell, Caluori.

Sin-bin: Bracken (40+3)

Referee: Karl Dickson

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