Woodburn double helps Exeter back to summit
Wing Olly Woodburn touched down twice as defending champions Exeter laid down an early-season English Premiership title marker with a 31-17 victory over Wasps on Sunday. Wasps took Exeter to extra time in last season's Premiership final, but the Chiefs were out of sight by half-time in their reunion and eventually notched up a third successive bonus-point victory. It took Exeter back to the top of the nascent standings, two points above Saracens, Newcastle and Northampton, who won 40-25 at London Irish. "We've got a little to work on. We'd like to be more ruthless in the second half," said Exeter head coach Ali Hepher. "But first half we got good momentum against a quality side and we're starting to accelerate towards Europe." In addition to Woodburn's two scores, flankers Dave Dennis and Don Armand also went over for Exeter in the first half, with all four scores falling between the ninth and 38th minutes at Sandy Park. Replacement hooker Shaun Malton chipped in with a second-half try and captain Gareth Steenson added three conversions. It was a second successive defeat for fifth-place Wasps, who had lost to Harlequins on their previous outing. Flanker Ashley Johnson and wing Josh Bassett scored the visitors' tries, with Jimmy Gopperth kicking two conversions and a penalty. Wasps director of rugby Dai Young said: "We made it look comfortable for Exeter. If you play against their team and give them 60 percent possession, they're going to hurt you. "Our main concern is getting back to how we can play. We're not holding the ball enough and we struggled to get phases going. "Injuries are racking up, but that's just excuses. Every team has injuries. Whatever team goes out there has to do the job." London Irish had little to shout about after a one-sided loss to Northampton in their first appearance of the season at the Madejski Stadium. Saints needed just 32 minutes to secure a bonus point, with former Australia centre Rob Horne crossing twice. Irish made a fist out of it in the second half, outscoring Northampton three tries to two, but they were never in the running. "It was a little bit end-to-end and we couldn't relax until it was over," said Saints director of rugby Jim Mallinder. "It was good to score 40 points away from home and get the bonus point."
