What's happened
Exeter have won 34-28 over Newcastle in a high-scoring Prem Rugby clash at Sandy Park. Christian Wade scores a hat-trick to reach 100 top-flight tries, while Ross Vintcent and Bachuki Tchumbadze seal the home victory in a game that featured eight tries and a sparse 7,071 crowd.
What's behind the headline?
Analysis
- Wade’s hat-trick underscores his longevity and elite finishing ability, closing in on the all-time Prem try record.
- Exeter’s early pressure, including two early tries from Vintcent, shows tactical sharpness and speed in attack.
- The match also highlights broader shifts in attendance and value in English rugby, with a sparse crowd despite a sellable fixture and reduced ticket prices.
- Jake Dalziel’s Newcastle debut signals a rising talent pool in the North East, while Sam Harris’s Premiership bow adds depth to Exeter’s squad.
How we got here
The match features Exeter seeking their first league win of the season against a Newcastle side chasing their own improvement. Wade’s tally moves him within one try of Chris Ashton’s all-time Premier League record, highlighting his late-career impact.
Our analysis
- The Guardian reports Wade’s century milestone and the crowd challenges at Sandy Park, noting Wade’s two first-half tries and the late Tchumbadze score. - BBC Sport confirms Wade’s progression toward the record and details of Exeter’s comeback and Van Der Mescht/Kundiona involvement.
Go deeper
- Will Wade break the Premiership scoring record this season?
- How will Exeter address attendance and marketability amid rising ticket prices?
- Who emerges as Newcastle’s breakout player after Dalziel’s debut?
More on these topics
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BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC Television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flagship analys
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Sandy Park - Stadium in Exeter, England
Sandy Park is a rugby union stadium and conference and banqueting centre in Exeter, England. It is the home ground of Exeter Chiefs, who from the 2010–11 season have been playing in the Gallagher Premiership, the top flight of the English rugby union le
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Henry Slade - Wikimedia disambiguation page
Henry Slade may refer to: Henry Slade (medium) (1835–1905), fraudulent medium Henry Slade (rugby union) (born 1993), English rugby union player Henry Adolphus Warre Slade (1869–1936), British businessman and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
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Christian Wade - Former rugby union player
Christian Wade is an English American football player and former rugby union player, currently a running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He previously played rugby union for Wasps, and won one cap for England, as a wing.
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Exeter Chiefs - English rugby union club, based in Exeter
Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in the Gallagher PREM, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home matches at Sandy Park, a purpose-built facility on the outskirts of the city. They have been known by the name Chiefs since 1999. The club was promoted to the Premiership for the first time in 2010. Since promotion, the Chiefs have become one of the leading clubs in the Premiership, winning the championship title twice, in 2016–17 and 2019–20 respectively, and reaching a further five finals. In October 2020, the Chiefs won the Champions Cup, the top prize in European club rugby union, defeating French club Racing 92 in the final. Exeter are the only club to win the top four tiers of English rugby, winning the Premiership in 2017 and 2020, RFU Championship in 2010, National League 1 in 1997 and National League 2 South in 1996. They have won the Anglo-Welsh Cup/Premiership Rugby Cup three times, most recently in 2022–23, and the European Rugby Champions Cup once, in 2020. The current director of rugby is Rob Baxter, who was appointed in March 2009.