Springbok red carded as Leicester Tigers end Exeter Chiefs’ play-off run

springbok red carded as leicester tigers end exeter chiefs’ play-off run

Jasper-Wiese-Leicester-Tigers-Premiership-2024-Alamy

A red card for departing number eight Jasper Wiese was not enough to dampen Leicester Tigers’ mood as they sealed a 40-22 triumph over Exeter Chiefs, who missed out on a place in the Premiership play-offs.

An away victory Sale Sharks over Saracens meant the result at Welford Road was academic, but this was nevertheless the ideal way for the eighth-placed Tigers to finish what has been a difficult campaign.

The only negative of the encounter was Wiese’s red card in what was his final game for the Tigers, while results elsewhere meant the Chiefs dropped two places to seventh on the final day of the regular season.

Click here for scorers

Needing a win, Exeter had the start they wanted in the seventh minute when Dan John’s neat off-load, after being tackled by Ollie Hassell-Collins, put Olly Woodburn into space and he timed his pass to send Immanuel Feyi-Waboso clear down the right.

Henry Slade added the conversion from out wide before Handre Pollard’s penalty put Leicester on the board after Chiefs were pinged for offside in front of their posts.

The Tigers then went ahead after 21 minutes when Hassell-Collins raced in from halfway, albeit aided by a couple of flimsy tackles from Woodburn and Harvey Skinner.

A second try for the hosts should have arrived three minutes later when Mike Brown gathered Pollard’s cross-field kick and stepped inside, but Freddie Steward fumbled his pass.

However, it was not long before Leicester did score again as Jack van Poortvliet’s footwork from the base of a ruck allowed him to evade two tacklers and go clear.

Exeter’s chances then suffered another blow when Woodburn was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on Dan Kelly, with Pollard knocking over the resulting penalty.

Premiership semi-finals and kick-off times confirmed

Slade pulled back three points for the Chiefs to make it 20-10 just before half-time, but they had to start the second half without Feyi-Waboso after he saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on.

Within three minutes of the restart, Leicester had their third try when Kelly’s long pass put Hassell-Collins into space and the winger’s ball outside put Tommy Reffell in at the corner.

Tigers captain Julian Montoya then slid into touch a metre from the line after breaking off a driving maul, but the bonus point was soon in the bag for the hosts.

Matt Scott was denied the honours as he was brilliantly tackled by Woodburn, but Brown was quickly on the scene to pick up and score.

With their play-off hopes disappearing, Exeter pulled a try back through Dan Frost before Wiese was sent off in the 68th minute for spearing Ross Vintcent at a breakdown.

Vintcent gained some retribution when some quick hands led to him scoring down the right, but two penalties from Premiership debutant Kieran Wilkinson finally ended Exeter’s hopes of a comeback.

The teams

Leicester: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Mike Brown, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Harry Wells, 4 George Martin, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Francois van Wyk

Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Cronin, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Finn Carnduff, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Kieran Wilkinson, 23 Solomone Kata

Exeter: 15 Dan John, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Tom Cairns, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 4 Jack Dunne, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Max Norey, 1 Scott Sio

Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 Niall Armstrong, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Zack Wimbush

Referee: Karl Dickson

Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales, John Meredith

TMO: Rowan Kitt

OTHER NEWS

18 minutes ago

Broome’s famous Cable Beach makes Big 7 Travel’s list of best beaches in the world

22 minutes ago

Ex-cop Beau Lamarre-Condon accused of double murders of Jessie Baird and Luke Davies will wait longer behind bars as case against him is delayed another two months

23 minutes ago

T20 World Cup: Proteas prepare for blockbuster fixtures in Super 8 stage

23 minutes ago

Philanthropist who gave away millions dies

23 minutes ago

McIlroy to take time off after 'toughest' day

23 minutes ago

Corvette Gets A New Boss

23 minutes ago

Communications Minister addresses calls for a greater crackdown on social media

24 minutes ago

How to minimise your exposure to microplastics

24 minutes ago

11 new entries on 2024’s Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list; 81 in total

26 minutes ago

Céline Dion makes rare red carpet appearance with son Rene-Charles

29 minutes ago

Biden to give hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants who are married to US citizens protection from deportation, work permits and path to citizenship in the biggest immigration shakeup in decades

29 minutes ago

Alex Murdaugh's only surviving son Buster sues Netflix and Warner Bros over documentaries linking him to the death of Stephen Smith - but victim's family's lawyer issues chilling warning

30 minutes ago

Judge blocks Iowa law allowing state authorities to arrest and deport migrants 

31 minutes ago

OnPolitics: Black voters aren't thrilled with Biden but dislike Trump more

31 minutes ago

Biden Blasts 'Out Of Step' Supreme Court In Warning Over Second Trump Presidency

31 minutes ago

Whistleblower who claimed Dublin Airport police were ‘bypassing’ security screenings drops ‘retaliation’ claim

31 minutes ago

Fox sisters open up on special bond ahead of Paris Olympics

31 minutes ago

‘The Daily Show’: Jon Stewart Says Donald Trump Is “Tripping Over His Own D***” Coming After Joe Biden’s Age

31 minutes ago

New homeowner considers legal action after uncovering seller's lies about landscaping blunder: 'I would not have purchased the property'

31 minutes ago

Boston Celtics +280 favorites to repeat as NBA champions

31 minutes ago

Titanic sub disaster one year on: How the world watched a tragedy unfold over four days

31 minutes ago

Five moments that clinched Game 5 and NBA title for Boston Celtics

31 minutes ago

Australian ambassador to the Philippines slams ‘illegal’ Chinese navy action

31 minutes ago

Boeing's CEO search is not going well

31 minutes ago

Johannesburg's trend-setters and socialites come out to play and let loose at Disney+ quiz night

31 minutes ago

Donald Trump holds significant lead over Joe Biden in Iowa, new poll shows

31 minutes ago

Gary Neville ‘can see why’ striker ‘with so much potential’ snubbed Arsenal and Man Utd

33 minutes ago

Sir Ian McKellen to ‘make a speedy and full recovery’ after theatre stage fall

40 minutes ago

Campaigners celebrate court ruling on controversial gas caverns plan

40 minutes ago

Altered image falsely shared as 'US aircraft carrier damaged by Huthi attack'

40 minutes ago

‘You have to go after him’: NSW gunning for Walsh – again, says Martin

40 minutes ago

Bill Russell on how he would guard prime Shaquille O'Neal: "Make him move laterally"

41 minutes ago

Celtics enter offseason as clear-cut favorite to repeat

41 minutes ago

Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota founder, wins shareholders' approval to stay in leadership

42 minutes ago

Drastic measure neighbours have been forced to take as illegal parking act overruns their Perth suburb and turns locals against each other

42 minutes ago

Which city has the most championships across the Big Four pro sports leagues?

44 minutes ago

Dylan Alcott's sexologist girlfriend Chantelle Otten reveals the wild kink she enjoys while staying in a hotel room: 'It's kind of exciting'

46 minutes ago

Sam Morton: Daffodils & Dirt review – actor’s intoxicating trip-hop debut

46 minutes ago

Jack Conan ruled out of Ireland’s tour to South Africa due to personal reasons

46 minutes ago

‘I don’t want to take these characters home’: Jesse Plemons on life playing the psychopath next door