LEICESTER — Exeter Chiefs defeated Leicester Tigers 35-26 in a Premiership Rugby match at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on May 4, 2026. The victory moved Exeter into fourth place in the Premiership standings, three points ahead of fifth-placed Saracens.

Olly Woodburn scored two tries for Exeter, while Andrea Zambonin added his first-ever Premiership try. Len Ikitau contributed one try and assisted Woodburn’s second score. Henry Slade kicked three penalties and three conversions for the Chiefs.

Leicester Tigers responded with tries from George Pearson, Olly Cracknell, and Charlie Clare. Orlando Bailey added three penalties and three conversions for the hosts. Adam Radwan had a try disallowed in the 30th minute after video replays could not confirm he grounded the ball.

Harvey Skinner threw a 35-metre looping pass to Zambonin, who scored the decisive try in the left corner with seven minutes remaining. Woodburn received a yellow card in the 58th minute for a deliberate knock-on.

The loss ended Leicester Tigers’ home winning streak, marking their first defeat at home since March 2025. Leicester remained in third place in the Premiership, two points behind second-placed Bath and three points ahead of Exeter prior to the match.

Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling said: "It means nothing in terms of what we have to do next week, that stays the same, but it's incredibly frustrating." He added: "That's not what we want to do in front of our fans. So we've got six days to go at Bath. We will review this, but we'll dust ourselves off very, very quickly and we know the task at hand."

Exeter Chiefs forwards coach Ross McMillan said: "Going into these games you get that little bit of flavour that if you're going to win this tournament you've got to be able to beat these teams." He added: "For us now our focus shifts towards Saracens next week."

Exeter’s win eliminated Bristol Bears from contention for a top-four finish. The Chiefs will host Saracens in their final regular season match, which will determine the fourth team to qualify for the Premiership semi-finals. Leicester will play Bath the following weekend in a match that will determine home advantage in the play-offs.