Chiefs sink to a new low at Falcons

An already dismal start to the Gallagher Premiership for Exeter Chiefs took a significant downturn on a Friday night trip to perennial losers Newcastle Falcons.

The Chiefs arrived in the North-East looking for a first win after four straight defeats to the campaign, and surely no better place to visit, with the home side on a brutal run of 25 losses in a row.

This, however, would be a night of relief for Newcastle, and prolonged pain for Exeter.

The Chiefs were racked by nerves and sloppy errors, despite grabbing an early lead with a score from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, one of the few shining lights over the opening weeks of the season.

Repeated penalties from Exeter gave the Falcons momentum in their play and Newcastle thoroughly warranted the equalising try from Philip van der Walt. Josh Hodge kicked two penalties to give Exeter an 11-7 lead but that was as good as it got for the Chiefs.

Jamie Balmire dotted down twice for the hosts, as Exeter continued to lose their discipline, eventually limping home with a 24-18 defeat on a momentous night for Newcastle.

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon: "I am not going to run away and say anything different – it wasn’t a great performance was it?

"We actually started pretty well and had a lot of control of the game but our ability just to hang in things at the moment is quite poor.

"We just have to instil a bit of confidence in the lads but, as they just said, if we don’t hang on to the ball it doesn’t matter what the gameplan is.

"We are a Jekyll and Hyde team at the moment. We have some great moments in us and we have real ability but also an ability to break up ourselves."