Exeter Chiefs staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Bath 27-26 in the Premiership Rugby semi-final played at the Recreation Ground on Saturday, June 13, 2026 [1, 2]. Trailing 26-10 at half-time, Exeter scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to claim a narrow victory [1, 2].

Bath's Joe Cokanasiga was sin-binned in the 64th minute, while Exeter's Henry Slade had been sent to the bin earlier in the 10th minute [1, 3]. In the closing stages, Bath mounted a prolonged attack lasting over 40 phases near Exeter’s try line but were held up and failed to score [1, 4, 2]. Bath fly-half Santi Carreras chose not to attempt a drop goal in the dying minutes despite having chances, a decision considered a missed opportunity to seal the win [4, 2].

Exeter’s coach Rob Baxter said the turnaround was one of his greatest achievements, praising Slade’s leadership for instilling belief in the team. Baxter said, "To look at players on the field fighting to a standstill like they did today, and some of those lads are the same lads who were losing by 80 points at Gloucester at the end of last season. It's the same players, but it's different men, and that makes me incredibly proud" [5]. Baxter also acknowledged Slade’s role, stating, "Our most experienced player did the stupidest thing on the field on the day, really... But he's been great and he talks really well. When you've been there, you understand you can do things... I think he's just helping the lads believe that as well" [3].

Bath coach Johann van Graan noted missed chances in the second half and added, "It was their frontline fly-half we missed the most" [4].

Exeter Chiefs finished the regular season in third place and this marks their first Premiership final appearance since 2021 [5]. The win also makes Exeter only the second team in the last decade to win a Premiership semi-final away from home [1, 5]. Last season, Exeter had their worst Premiership campaign, finishing ninth with just four wins, including a record 79-17 loss to Gloucester [5, 3].

Exeter will face Northampton Saints in the Premiership final scheduled for next Saturday, September 9, 2026, at Allianz Stadium [1, 5, 3].