Saracens
Exeter Chiefs v Saracens Premiership Report
By saracensfan62
June 8 2026
It was the final round of games in the Gallagher Premiership and most eyes were focused at Devon as old foes Exeter Chiefs and Saracens did battle in what was a knockout (a quarter-final I suppose) at Sandy Park. Having attended the SSA meetup at the Blue Ball in a nearby village, I’d walked to the ground, cheered the team in and taken my spot in the east stand terrace ready for kick off. Big voice and flag ready, I was looking forward to what would be a proper grudge match. I was surrounded by a good 10/12 Sarries fans in the SE corner of the terrace, all cheering loud and proud with plenty of entertaining songs at the ready. SP has not been a happy hunting ground for us in recent times so I was determined to do my bit to help the team get the win.The Chiefs were occupying fourth spot, but Rob Baxter and his side knew that a win for Saracens and outgoing head coach Mark McCall would see the Londoners leapfrog them barring a few permutations. Either way, allowing Sarries the opportunity to win would cost them their spot in the playoffs. This was, in every sense, the match of the round. Clawing our way back to fourth place on the back of five consecutive wins and taking 24/25 available points were within touching distance of a semi-final at Northampton, a rematch of the SF 2 years ago. Henry Slade led the way as Exeter emerged emphatic 32-12 winners and they secured a Gallagher Prem play-off against Bath. The result was agonising. Saracens had the better of the first half, played some of their best rugby of the season, and were desperately unfortunate to go in behind. Exeter grew into the contest, took control after half-time and exposed a Saracens side that ran out of ideas, carriers and ultimately belief as the game slipped away. Exeter were the better team so congrats to them on the win, but the manner in which we lost was deeply frustrating.
Recap of the match
1'–10' — Saracens fire out of the traps
The Men in Black arrived in Devon with the urgency and intensity you would expect from a side playing for their season. Itoje won the first lineout cleanly, and from the very first phase Saracens' forwards were driving hard and low. Ben Earl was outstanding early on with numerous carries in the opening five minutes, gaining ground with each one. Burke was smart with his kicks and Saracens worked their way into Exeter's 22. Saracens scored thanks to consistent pick and gos, then some quick hands allowed Tobias Elliott to scarper in the corner and dot down. Burke missed the conversion and it was 0-5 with 8 minutes gone. It was a statement of Saracens' intent: press, press, press.
11'–20' — Physicality increases
Exeter, to their considerable credit, refused to be overrun. Varney began to find his rhythm at nine, getting the ball away cleanly from the breakdown and giving Skinner time on the ball. We started to put the chiefs under some good scrum pressure but frstratingly Dickson wasn't rewarding us. Story of the afternoon it seems
21'–35' — Saracens dominate but can't convert
This was the period that will arguably haunt McCall's men most. Saracens had sustained territorial possession, working off quick ball from the ruck and using Tompkins and Hartley to punch holes in midfield. Olly Hartley, Bracks and Nick Tompkins both knocked on in the Exeter 22 after sustained pressure, allowing the Chiefs opportunities to get out of their own half. A lovely offload from Earl released Segun on the wing, who was hauled down short and knocked on. Paul brown Bampoe was extremely lucky not to be sin binned for diving on Segun as he attempted to ground the ball, and it really should’ve been a penalty try to us. His mightiness Karl Dickson decided otherwise, awarding Exeter a 5m scrum for their efforts. Sarries were still a handful, but they could not find the evasive try. Henry Slade slotted a penalty to narrow the gap to 3-5, a reward for sustained refusal to concede another try.
35'–43' — Bracken sin-binned; Exeter punish ruthlessly
The critical moment of the first half. Charlie Bracken was sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, and Exeter led for the first time after they struck again with the numerical advantage. Then came the first try for the Chiefs Exeter's Max Norey scored, touching down after a slick sequence of phases through the Exeter forwards exploiting the space in the lineout where Charlie Bracken would normally have been. George appeared to be impeded in the build-up and was unable to complete the tackle on Norey, but the try stood. Exeter’s favourite son Henry Slade missed the conversion in the ever swirly sandy park conditions. Exeter 8-5.
HALF-TIME: Exeter 8–5 Saracens
41'–47' — Slade puts the game to bed
McCall introduced reinforcements early in the second half, but the damage was done before they could make an impact. Exeter struck early in the second half off turnover ball, with Slade starting and finishing a lovely counter-attacking move that involved Campbell Ridl and Olly Woodburn. It was the try of the match. Ridl made the initial break, fed Woodburn back on the angle, who passed inside to the onrushing Slade who was composed, clinical, inevitable. Slade converted his own try. 15-5 to Exeter and it was the worst possible start to the second half for us. That Bracken sin-bin had cost us 12 points, changing the game I feel.
48'–55' — Burke has a howler; Exeter cruise away
Saracens desperately needed a foothold. Instead, they gave the game away. Exeter were awarded a penalty on the Saracens 22 for not rolling away (I think?? Either that or an offside offence). Slade kicked it over on 51 minutes making the score 18-5 to the Chiefs. Just when we needed composure, in came a moment of idiocy. Fergus Burke sent the restart straight into touch. Those two moments, one brilliant and one clueless, were really the final nail. Exeter won the territory battle at will. Owen Farrell, Theo Dan, Nick Isiekwe and Noah Caluori all entered the pitch, replacing George, McFarland, Burke and Segun, with an 13-point deficit to overturn heading into the final 20-25 minutes. Not the right call again, I feel Burke was our best running threat as he clearly had the advantage over Skinner. Taking him off was not the correct call.
56'–65' — Zambonin buries Saracens
Saracens were reeling, no longer able to make a dent on Exeter, barely able to exit their half at all, and the killer blow came when Zambonin burrowed over from close range following a scrum penalty, which again went the incorrect way. Apparently it’s now legal for looseheads to deck their arm on the ground to steady themselves on binding? Bizarre
The Exeter forward pack, enormous and relentless, had finally found their gear. 25-5 was the score and the Sandy Park faithful could already taste the victory and us away fans were starting to lose all hope.
70’–73' — Isiekwe lifts the travelling support and gives something to cheer about
To their credit, Saracens fought. Isiekwe dived over in the corner before Farrell added a testing conversion to make it 25–12 with seven minutes remaining. A grandstand finish was briefly imaginable but time was merciless what with constant time wasting from the Chiefs going totally unpunished by Dickson. Sarries had another attacking opportunity, but Nick Tompkins kicked the ball away when it really had to stay in hand. Totally clueless decision and one likely brought on by panic.
77'–80' — Varney sends Devon into raptures
On 78 minutes, Isiekwe stole a lineout on the Chiefs 22, and the ball went through the hands. A poor pass to Farrell meant he had to attempt a tip-on to Olly Hartley, but the ball hit an Exeter players leg and went loose. Itoje attempted a hack through, but it bounced off feet and legs and went backwards, None other than Stephen Varney found himself in the right place at the right time and kicked it through. As if by magic, the ball bounced up nicely for him and he won the sprint to claim the final try in style. It was a sublime solo effort that sealed the win for the chiefs at 32–12. Slade converted. The final whistle blew. Sandy Park erupted. The classy England centre had inspired Exeter's fightback after they had spent the second quarter under heavy pressure before coming alive to end Saracens' five-match winning run.
Tactical Analysis
What Saracens did well — and what undid them
Saracens' first-half game plan was clear and well-executed. They used Earl and Willis to carry short off the ruck, stretching Exeter's defensive line, before looking for Elliott and Tompkins in the wider channels. Burke's kicking game was tidy in the first quarter. The problem was the lineout. Saracens' lineout never really established dominance and it got repeatedly blown around in the wind or stolen by the ever irritating Zambonin. Once Bracken was binned from a daft, impulsive deliberate knock-on at a critical moment Exeter had the space and the numbers to reassert themselves.
In the second half, Saracens lost their shape entirely. Players were starting to fall off tackles and the middle of the field became a motorway for Ikitau and Slade to exploit. Hugh Tizard provided plenty of graft but Exeter found ways through the middle far too often after half-time. The introduction of Farrell was too little far too late. The horse had long since bolted. Yes he added some composure and better decisions, but by then, the game was effectively over.
What Exeter got right and what they need to improve
Baxter's half-time adjustments were excellent. He clearly identified that Exeter's line speed in the first half had been too flat, gifting Saracens easy carries and space to break the gainline. After the break, they pressed higher and suffocated the ball. Slade and Ikitau dominated the midfield collision, with Ikitau causing problems with his tricky running and linking up well with Slade. Varney was a constant menace around the base, injecting pace at the right moments. He also showed superb skills to score his try and book their semi-final place.
Summary and Final Thoughts
There will be hard questions to answer in the Saracens camp over the coming days. This was a match we had in their control and we totally let it slip. The first half was legitimately encouraging. Saracens were aggressive and sharp, and the final score reflects nothing of how competitive they were for the opening 35 minutes. But rugby does not reward first-half performances. Bracken's sin-bin and Segun’s missed try were the turning points, and the second half capitulation exposed a team that had run out of steam at the worst possible moment.
Rob Baxter was feeling emotional at the end of it all. "When you go through what we went through last season and then get a day like today, the high's and lows of sport are incredible," he said and with good reason. I imagine the added meaning of this game for the Chiefs fans inspired the team to go out and lay down a performance to be proud of.
For Saracens, the pain is threefold: the loss of a play-off place, the end of a five-match winning streak, and most significantly, the end of Mark McCall's extraordinary 17-year tenure as DoR at the sarries. Smally deserved a better farewell than Sandy Park on a blustery Saturday afternoon in June. But he will know, more than anyone, that this was a game his side should have won. McCall will effectively swap places with Brendan Venter (Dr Venter, as he’s also known) ahead of the 2026-27 season so it’s not truly goodbye. Thank you for everything Smally, a true Saracens legend and one of the best DoRs in rugby history.
The Saracens rebuild begins now. The talent is there what with Earl, Itoje, Dan, Burke, Elliott and Caluori with 18 tries this season. But the mental resilience, the ability to hold a performance together for eighty minutes, eluded them here when it mattered most. In the bigger picture, a fifth-place finish without sustained European involvement is not a disaster. The mid-season period around November and December was the time that cost us. Defeats to Northampton away, and Exeter+Bath at home really dented our chances of playoffs. But the manner of this defeat will sting for a long time and we will need to put it right for next season. 2 seasons in 5th place is frustrating enough, let alone 3. See you all soon. COYS
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:06:28:18:50:39 by Darraghgirl.
I saw the first half very differently. No need to repeat what I've said elsewhere but in contrast to us
Chiefs varied their attack with big runners through the middle but also distributing from both their props and they obviously made an effort to get the ball wide to whilst varying the tempo of the attack. We actually defended it very well most of the time with Burke in particular bailing us out when tackles were missed.
That's a very valid point re PBB. I really didn't notice but you mentioning it I had a look and he doesn't even try and make a proper tackle unless we count the one hand around Seguns neck, then he drops a knee on his back.
How is that deemed a tackle. Obvious red and black specs but how is that not a yellow and PT as him landing on Segun definitely contributes to him losing the ball forward.
I don't disagree about 5th not being a disaster. We seemingly learnt little from a similar failure last season. Talked the talk about a more expansive game in pre-season and then took 2/3rds of the season to deliver it through a change in personnel and plan. Then didn't follow through in last game of the season.
This isn't a new pattern we have been dipping a toe in and taking it out of a more ambitious attack since we fluffed our lines V Tigers in the first season back.
No team deserves to win or be at the top table but we have seriously under-delivered given our squad.
Quote:saracensfan62
I omitted any comments about Dickson, yes he was awful as per but even with him officiating like any other ref, we probably wouldn't have won.
Dickson was truly awful saturday; no consistency in his calls and missed ( ignored?) many exeter infringements. His errors made a difference, it can’t be ignored but yes the team ultimately lost that in many areas.
We’re always delighted to welcome new reporters
Quote:Darraghgirl
To those being a bit nit-picky about this report could I suggest you try writing one?
We’re always delighted to welcome new reporters
Not being not-picky, but there’s quite a bit in here that reads like AI:
“ Then came the game's first try. Exeter's Max Norey scored the opening try, touching down after a slick sequence of phases through the Exeter forwards. George appeared to be impeded in the build-up and was unable to complete the tackle on Norey, but the try stood. Saracens refused to crumble. Burke kicked a penalty to put Sarries on the board. 7–3.”
It’s not the first try, it didn’t come after Exeter forwards phases, Burke didn’t kick a penalty and the score was never 7-3.
I make a lot of grammatical and spelling errors hence I sometimes use Grammarly and its AI function so would explain why at points it reads differently to my usual tone.
Quote:saracensfan62
I used a previous match report as a template for this one, must've forgotten to edit out bits (such as putting Daly instead of hartley, norey scoring first etc). Normally I wouldn't do that, this is just a one-off. Duh moment from me sorry.
I make a lot of grammatical and spelling errors hence I sometimes use Grammarly and its AI function so would explain why at points it reads differently to my usual tone.
No worries (and no need to apologise) - just that one particular section read like an AI hallucination…
Really appreciate the reports you do.
Quote:PaulHerox
As long as you've a grip on your Bolognese!
Really appreciate the reports you do.
I am ashamed to say I found this rather amusing...
![[:wor kid:]](/phorum-5.1.15/mods/smileys/images/13.gif "[:wor kid:]")
Quote:PaulHerox
Really appreciate the reports you do.
+1 thank you for all of the work put in!
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