Harlequins beat Exeter Chiefs in Gallagher Premiership final

Rob Baxter’s side went toe-to-toe in a heavyweight showdown at Twickenham, but it was the Londoners who trotted back over the Whitton Road with the seasonal bounty.

Just a week after producing an epic fightback to sink Bristol Bears in the semi-finals, Harlequins again left it late to end Exeter’s hopes of securing back-to-back titles.

Winger Louis Lynagh was their big game hero, the young winger striking twice in the last ten minutes to seal a memorable victory for Quins, who were celebrating their first title success since 2012.

For the Chiefs, this loss will certainly hurt. The wounds, some of which were self-inflicted, will need stitching over in the close season by Baxter and his players alike.

However, Devon’s finest have been here before and we know how the story has continued since.

Sadly, a sixth successive final appearance on the trot could not yield a third Premiership gong for the Chiefs. However, they can - and they will - in the cold light of day, take great pride in a seasonal performance which augurs well for the future.

Rob Baxter has described a restricted 10,000 crowd capacity at Twickenham as “a double-edged sword”.

Premiership Rugby had been hoping to host 20,000 socially-distanced spectators for English rugby’s domestic showpiece, but the Government refused to grant it test-event status.

Games at Wembley in the later stages of Euro 2020, and events such as Wimbledon and British Grand Prix during the next few weeks are set for substantially bigger crowds than at an 82,000-capacity Twickenham.

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