What changed
Toulouse beat Exeter Chiefs 43-40 in a Champions Cup pool match after playing most of the game with 14 men. Rodrigue Neti was sent off in the 16th minute, but Toulouse still recovered from a 26-24 half-time deficit.
Zack Wimbush scored three tries for Exeter. Henry Slade converted five of Exeter’s six tries, then missed a penalty from about 40 metres in the final seconds that would have forced a draw. Exeter took a losing bonus point.
Why it matters
This was not a narrow escape built on control. It was a match that kept changing shape. Exeter had the extra player, led at half-time and moved nine points ahead after Will Butt charged down Antoine Dupont’s clearing kick. Toulouse still found enough attacking momentum to turn that advantage into a three-point lead.
The decisive detail was Slade’s final kick. After converting five tries, he had the chance to erase Toulouse’s late advantage. The miss left Exeter with credit for pushing the six-time champions to the edge, but no famous win.
The result also gives Wimbush a clear place in the story. Starting for the injured Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, he scored Exeter’s opening try in the second minute and completed a hat-trick in a six-try performance. His breakthrough mattered almost as much as the result: Exeter found a match-winner, but Toulouse found one more answer.
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