Overview
- Bath beat Exeter 40-34 at the Recreation Ground on Friday, 2 October 2026, in an 11-try West Country derby that moved Bath to the top of the Gallagher Premiership with a maximum 10 points.
- Exeter staged a second-half fightback to lead 33-31 but scrum-half Stephen Varney was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock‑on and the referee awarded a penalty try that swung momentum back to Bath.
- Bath’s tries came from Cam Redpath, Bernard van der Linde, Dan du Preez, Ted Hill and Finn Russell with Russell converting four kicks and scoring a try of his own.
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored two brilliant tries for Exeter and the Chiefs also scored through Jack Yeandle, Josh Iosefa-Scott and Varney, leaving them with two bonus points for four tries and the narrow defeat.
- Both coaches stressed squad depth after the match with Bath’s Johann van Graan praising the impact of replacements and Exeter’s Rob Baxter highlighting his side’s fight and physical intent as a platform to build on.