Gloucester exact revenge

Gloucester claimed revenge for their opening weekend defeat at Exeter as they bagged a bonus-point Aviva Premiership victory on Saturday.

The Chiefs stunned their opponents 22-10 on their top flight debut in Devon almost four months ago, but were never in the hunt on this occasion against their fired-up hosts.

Scrum-half Rory Lawson and full-back Olly Morgan crossed before the break, while the outstanding James Simpson-Daniel and fellow wing Charlei Sharples clinched the bonus point - Akapusi Qera adding a late fifth try.

Exeter did not go down without a fight though, sending flanker Tom Johnson and Sereli Naqelevuki over midway through the second half while the latter also added a late consolation.

Gareth Steenson, making his first start since suffering a knee injury in October, traded an early penalty with Freddie Burns as the Chiefs dominated the initial exchanges, but Gloucester stung them through a 17th-minute breakaway score.

The Exeter forwards turned over possession 20 metres from the try-line, but Gloucester did not consider a safety-first kicking option as flanker Peter Buxton found Simpson-Daniel, whose inside pass allowed Lawson an unchallenged 40-metre run to score.

Burns failed miserably with the conversion attempt, but Exeter appeared rattled as Gloucester strived to increase the tempo and utilise dangerous backs like Simpson-Daniel and Sharples.

A second score arrived eight minutes later - this time after Gloucester ran a penalty deep inside their own half. Skipper Mike Tindall made the initial headway, Simpson-Daniel again acted as link-man and Morgan finished off in style.

Good value

Burns slotted the extras, and although Steenson booted his second penalty shortly afterwards, Gloucester were good value for their 15-6 advantage.

A Burns penalty extended the lead to 12 points by half-time, with Exeter temporarily a man short after Thomas was sin-binned by referee Martin Fox for a technical infringement deep inside Chiefs' 22.

Exeter battled hard despite their numerical disadvantage, but relentless Gloucester pressure eventually told when Simpson-Daniel pounced for their third try.

Burns looked to have got there himself, only to be tackled inches short, yet from the ensuing scrum - and with Thomas still off - Lawson's pass gave Simpson-Daniel a simple finish.

Burns converted, leaving Gloucester with almost 30 minutes to hunt down a bonus point try as Exeter found themselves facing a prolonged damage-limitation exercise.

Johnson gave the visitors a glimmer of hope when he collected an opportunist try after twice kicking the ball on during a lung-busting surge, but Gloucester still held all the aces at 25-11 ahead.

And the important fourth touchdown arrived 17 minutes from time as slick passing enabled Sharples to breach Exeter's defence, before Naqelevuki added the Chiefs' second try, converted by Steenson.

Gloucester did not lose their attacking appetite though, and as Exeter's defence shredded, Qera capitalised. But Chiefs concluded a frantic second period with Naqelevuki's second try that rounded off the game's final move.