Exeter moved top of the Premiership with a rare bonus-point win on the road as they prevailed 24-14 at Bristol.
Tries from Josh Iosefa-Scott and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso twice had Chiefs ahead but Gabriel Oghre and Noah Heward replied in a see-saw first half.
Stu Townsend put Exeter back in front on the resumption and Jacques Vermeulen wrapped up the bonus point late on.
Exeter’s seventh win of the campaign lifts them above Bath at the summit ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.
Rob Baxter made changes to the Exeter side that beat Leicester last weekend with try-scorers Iosefa-Scott, Feyi-Waboso and Townsend among those returning to the starting 15 for only the Chiefs’ second win on the road since October 2022.
The game took place in front of a bumper crowd of more than 24,257 inside Ashton Gate, the largest attendance for a Bears match for more than three years, but it was the visiting fans who were celebrating first during a first 40 minutes that saw the lead switch back and forth.
