Dai Young satisfied as Wasps move five points clear at Premiership summit following thrilling 35-35 draw at Exeter
Wasps boss Dai Young declared himself satisfied after his table-topping side scored late to level a pulsating 10-try 35-35 clash with top-four rivals Exeter at Sandy Park.
Exeter rallied after lock Johnny Hill was sent off in the early stages of the second period, while the game’s topsy-turvy nature continued until replacement Joe Simpson restored parity for the final time on 70 minutes.
Both teams were awarded a penalty try as Sam Simmonds, Luke-Cowan-Dickie, Olly Woodburn and Jack Maunder also crossed the line for the hosts. Christian Wade, Kyle Eastmond, Simpson and Alex Rieder touched down for Wasps.
Accruing three points from the contest, Wasps moved five points clear of second-placed Saracens, who lost at lowly Worcester on Saturday. Exeter climbed above Bath into third.
“It was a great game for the neutral and I’d have settled for that before coming down here,” said Young. “Maybe we should have won it after they went down to 14 but they had the wind in their favour and kept it a little bit tighter.
“There wasn’t much between us but it was frustrating on occasions as we needed to be a little more accurate as there were a number of opportunities we didn’t take.”
The scores were locked at 21-21 at half-time after Wade and Rieder scored either side of a penalty try for Wasps, while Simmonds and Maunder dotted down to add to Exeter’s penalty try.
Exeter surged into the lead after the break through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Hill received his marching orders for a dangerous challenge on Ashley Johnson. Eastmond then crossed the line to level the scores once again.
Woodburn edged Exeter ahead before Simpson’s final intervention for Wasps, who are yet to win at Sandy Park in 10 attempts.