Exeter Edge Newcastle 34-28 as Wade's Hat-Trick Falls Short

Exeter Chiefs finally have a Gallagher Premiership win to their name this season, edging Newcastle 34-28 in a breathless encounter at Sandy Park on Sunday that swung back and forth until the dying stages.

Christian Wade was the headline act for the visitors, the veteran wing completing a hat-trick — his third coming from a kick-and-chase after a Henry Slade handling error — but it was not enough to drag Newcastle over the line. Max Hicks added Newcastle's other try and Zack Henry converted all four to secure two losing bonus points.

Exeter struck after just 40 seconds when Ross Vintcent charged down a clearance kick and gathered to score. Wade levelled three minutes later, and the frenetic pace never let up: Vintcent galloped 20 metres for his second, Hicks put Newcastle ahead for the first time, and Slade raced through a leaky defence for an individual score before the first quarter was out. Newcastle led 21-19 at the break, but Exeter retook the lead four minutes after the restart through Sam Harris's bonus-point try on his Premiership debut, and Bachuki Tchumbadze crashed over late to seal it after a Slade penalty had given the Chiefs a one-point lead.

There was late drama at both ends — Exeter flanker Ethan Roots was yellow-carded for a no-arms tackle, Newcastle prop Adam Brocklebank was sin-binned late, full-back Harrison Obatoyinbo departed for a head-injury assessment to be replaced by 18-year-old Jake Dalziel, who became the club's youngest-ever league debutant at 18 years and 54 days, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso left with a leg problem. But the Chiefs held on for a first win of the campaign that the home crowd had been waiting for.