Exeter 35-35 Wasps: Thrilling draw with 10 tries at Sandy Park

Kurtley Beale congratulates Joe Simpson after Wasps claim the vital final try of the game

Exeter fought out a 35-35 draw in a 10-try thriller against Aviva Premiership leaders Wasps despite playing the final 35 minutes with 14 men.

Chiefs had lock Johnny Hill dismissed in a tense - and at times temperamental - game which featured a penalty try for each side and four further tries apiece.

Exeter's points came from tries by Sam Simmonds, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Olly Woodburn and Jack Maunder with Gareth Steenson converting those touchdowns plus the penalty try.

Christian Wade, Kyle Eastmond, Joe Simpson and Alex Rieder scored Wasps' tries with Jimmy Gopperth adding five conversions.

Joe Simpson breaks the tackle of Stuart Townsend on his way to scoring the game-tying try

Wasps made an impressive start and took the lead after only four minutes with an excellent try from Wade.

Exeter carelessly lost possession which allowed their opponents to counter-attack in style. Well-timed passes from Danny Cipriani and Kurtley Beale created the overlap for Wade, who easily outflanked the cover defence.

Gopperth converted but Chiefs soon drew level when young Simmonds, preferred at No 8 to try-machine Thomas Waldrom, forced his way over from a five-metre scrum.

The frenetic opening continued with Kearnan Myall and Josh Bassett being narrowly denied by frantic Chiefs defence before the hosts suffered a setback when lock Mitch Lees was yellow-carded for killing the ball.

Jonny Hill was sent off but Exeter managed to claim a share of the points with leaders Wasps

Wasps took immediate advantage to win a penalty try award after the home side repeatedly offended at five-metre scrums with Gopperth's conversion giving his side a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lees returned from the sin-bin with no further damage done to the scoreboard before a fourth try arrived in the 25th minute.

Strong runs from Woodburn and Phil Dollman put the Wasps defence on the back foot to create a try for scrum-half Maunder.

Jack Maunder was among the Chiefs tryscorers

However moments later, Maunder was the villain as he missed a crucial tackle on Bassett which gave Wasps the chance to burst into the home 22. A neat pass from Dan Robson gave Rieder an easy try.

The first half's scoring spree was not over as referee Greg Garner awarded another penalty try, this time to Exeter after Thomas Young, who was yellow-carded, sacked a driving line-out.

Steenson added a third conversion to make it 21-21 at the end of a pulsating half but Exeter would have been the happier as they turned to play with the wind in the second half.

It took only four minutes after the restart for Chiefs to take the lead for the first time when Steenson sent Cowan-Dickie in under the posts.

Wasps team-mates congratulate Kyle Eastmond after his try

A minute later, Hill was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Ashley Johnson before Cipriani's pass sent Eastmond over.

Poor defence from Wasps allowed Woodburn to scramble his way over for the game's ninth try before the wing was replaced by Sam Skinner to bring the home pack back to a full eight.

Wasps brought on Simpson and he made his speed count to tie up the scores with 10 minutes remaining but the hosts showed remarkable resilience and character to hang on for a draw, almost snatching victory with a late breakthrough that Henry Slade couldn't quite convert into points.