The Exeter Chiefs triumphed yet again at Sandy Park yesterday with a huge 74-3 win against the Newcastle Falcons.

The match saw the Chiefs stack up as many as 12 tries against the opposition, and Sam Simmonds bring his total number of Premiership tries this season up to a staggering 20 - three more than the previous record of any other player in Premiership history.

After a rocky start to the game with the Falcons seeming more of a match for the Chiefs than first thought, the Exeter forwards quickly got two tries under their belt, followed by Alex Cuthbert and Henry Slade for the backs, and a last minute try from Vermeulen brought the first half to a close.

Down 31-3 at half time, the Newcastle Falcons had put up a valiant resistance but a demoralising scoreboard and a tough match-up against seasoned Exeter international veterans got the better of the northern side.

A quick tap-and-go saw Vermeulen over the line again just four minutes into the second half, and set the tone for the rest of the match.

More tries from Joe Simmonds, Stuart Hogg, Harvey Skinner and even Dave Ewers saw the score rise exponentially, ending on 74 points to three for the Chiefs.

The Exeter Chiefs are now hot on the Bristol Bears' tail in the league table, with 76 points for Bristol, 73 for Exeter, and 68 for the Sale Sharks in third place.

The next match will be an away fixture against the Northampton Saints this Sunday with kickoff at 3pm.