The Premiership pacesetters will be firm favourites to resume their winning habit against a Tigers team now in the charge of new head coach Steve Borthwick
Exeter v Leicester live stream: How to watch from anywhere
The return of Gallagher Premiership action can’t come fast enough for Exeter, who will hope to pick up where they left off in early March. A 57-20 thumping of Bath prior to the pandemic shutting down professional sport means the Chiefs lead the table by five points going into the long-delayed round 14.
Exeter have reached the past four Premiership finals, losing three of them to Saracens. With the reigning champions condemned to relegation for salary cap breaches, Chiefs are favourites to add a second English title to the one bagged in 2017.
A £1.4m reduction in the salary cap from the 2021-22 season has not noticeably affected Exeter’s playing personnel, with the likes of Stuart Hogg, Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Henry Slade and the Simmonds brothers, Sam and Joe, among some 30 players to have signed long-term deals at Sandy Park.
Wallabies Nic White and Greg Holmes are back in Australia but Scotland internationals Jonny Gray and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne have arrived. Both are in the match squad this weekend, with Gray making his debut in the engine room alongside Jonny Hill while Hidalgo-Clyne is among the replacements. Also on the bench is Tomas Francis. The tighthead hasn’t played since damaging his shoulder in Wales’ World Cup defeat to South Africa last October.
“We feel we are well set,” said Chiefs DoR Rob Baxter. “The players look good, they’ve trained incredibly hard and I like what I see. However, the proof of the pudding will in in our performance. I don’t think we could have done much more from where we are now.”
Opponents Leicester sit 11th in the table and have experienced wholesale changes over the summer. Of the 15 players that started their last game at Saracens on 7 March, just six remain. Nearly 30 players have departed and they include Jonny May (Gloucester), Manu Tuilagi (Sale) and Telusa Veainu (Stade Français), part of the back-line that gave Chiefs a first-half runaround last December.
Fresh start: Steve Borthwick directs operations during a Leicester Tigers training session (Getty Images)
However, there are plenty of positives for Tigers. Nemani Nadolo – scorer of more than 1,000 points in domestic and Test rugby – Kini Murimurivalu and Kobus Van Wyk are among the outside backs soon to be on view at Welford Road. And when you have in your ranks Harry Potter, a utility back signed from Melbourne Rebels, anything is possible!
The major change, of course, is the management revamp which sees new head coach Steve Borthwick launch his Tigers career in the most intimidating of stadia. Wins by Bristol and Sale at Sandy Park this season were the exception to the rule, Chiefs usually dominating visitors through the power and accuracy of their possession-based game.
Tigers give a debut to Scotland centre Matt Scott after his move from Edinburgh while David Williams, on loan from Nottingham, will also make his senior debut for the club after being name on the wing. New recruits Luke Wallace and Zack Henry are on the bench.
When the sides last met, at Leicester last December, a Jonny May brace helped Tigers forge a 19-7 lead before they were reeled in. Forwards Jannes Kirsten, Don Armand (two) and Hill crossed for Chiefs in a 31-22 win. Leicester’s last win at Exeter was in September 2014.
Exeter team: Stuart Hogg; Tom O’Flaherty, Henry Slade, Ollie Devoto, Olly Woodburn; Joe Simmonds (capt), Jack Maunder; Alec Hepburn, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Harry Williams, Jonny Gray, Jonny Hill, Dave Ewers, Jannes Kirsten, Sam Simmonds.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Dom Armand, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Ian Whitten.
Leicester team: George Worth; David Williams, Jaco Taute, Matt Scott, Jordan Olowofela; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Ellis Genge, Tom Youngs (capt), Dan Cole, Tomás Lavanini, Calum Green, Harry Wells, Tommy Reffell, Jordan Taufua.
Replacements: 16 Jake Kerr, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Hanro Liebenberg, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Thom Smith, 22 Ben White, 23 Zack Henry.
To watch the action unfold and see who has returned from the break in the best shape, here we explain how to find a reliable Exeter v Leicester live stream wherever you are.
How to watch Exeter v Leicester from outside your country
If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local Premiership coverage, like Exeter v Leicester this Saturday, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.
VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking by changing your IP address so you appear in a different location and can watch the same legal Premiership live stream you would at home.
Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.
Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.
Exeter v Leicester live stream: How to watch from the UK
Exeter v Leicester, which kicks off at 2pm on Saturday, will be shown live on Channel 5 and BT Sport 1 in the UK. If you want to watch the match on BT but don’t have a contract, you can easily watch it online.
That’s because BT Sport has a contract-free monthly pass that allows you to get instant access to all four of their sport channels for just £25.
That’s great value given they are showing every Premiership match played behind closed doors live and will also cover the European Champions and Challenge Cup knockout stages in September and October. Plus, you can cancel at any time because there’s no contract.
Clubs are also working with BT Sport to allow season ticket-holders free access to home games on the channel’s app.
If you’re from the UK but are overseas when Exeter v Leicester takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.
Exeter v Leicester live stream: How to watch from the USA
If you live in the States, the official broadcaster of Premiership matches is NBC, with matches streamed on NBC Sports Gold so you can watch them anytime and anywhere.
Exeter v Leicester will kick off at 9am EST and 6am on the West Coast.
The NBC Sports Gold Pass for rugby is $79.99 and includes coverage of the Gallagher Premiership, European Champions and Challenge Cups, and Guinness Six Nations.
Exeter v Leicester stream: How to watch from New Zealand
The match isn’t on live in New Zealand but you can catch it at 9.30am on Sunday morning on Sky Sport NZ 1.
It costs $31.99 a month to add Sky Sport to your Sky Starter pack ($25.99), but if you sign up for 12 months before 30 September 2020 you’ll get your first month free. Plus, you’ll get Sky Go, which allows you to watch live rugby wherever you are.
Exeter v Leicester live stream: How to watch from Japan
DAZN, which allows you to live stream sport or watch it on demand, is the place to go to watch Exeter v Leicester in Japan (kick-off 10pm on Saturday). The service is compatible with smart TVs and phones, tablets, PCs, streaming sticks, set-top boxes and gaming consoles.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
- Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
- Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad
We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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