Premiership Rugby Cup: London Irish 20-24 Exeter Chiefs (AET)

Exeter beat London Irish 24-20 in extra time to win the Premiership Rugby Cup.

Ignacio Ruiz and Jack Innard traded close-range tries before Irish's Argentine hooker got a second, with Exeter's Danny Southworth sin-binned.

Irish had Josh Basham yellow-carded with seven minutes left and Exeter capitalised with Josh Iosefa-Scott's try to make it 17-17 at full-time.

Jacob Atkins' penalty early in extra time put Irish up, but Aidon Davis' try just before the break sealed the win.

It is the second time in as many years that Irish have lost the final after extra time - they were beaten on tries scored after drawing 25-25 with Worcester last season, as their 21-year wait for a trophy goes on.

It was Exeter's third domestic cup triumph since promotion to the top flight in 2010 - they won the 2014 LV Cup and the 2018 Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The Irish pack - led by the impressive Lovejoy Chawatama - asserted their control early in the game, and a second scrum penalty set up their 13th-minute opening try as Argentina hooker Ruiz forced his way over from a maul after a five-metre lineout.

Exeter regathered their composure and were back on level terms 13 minutes later when Innard - who scored two tries in the final when Exeter last won the cup in 2018 - jinked over after a great take by Sean O'Brien, as the Chiefs pressurised Irish on their line.

Exeter had Southworth sin-binned for a head-to-head collision with So'otala Fa'aso'o after 32 minutes, and two minutes later Ruiz got his second as he was mauled over from a five-metre lineout, before Iwan Jenkins' penalty reduced the gap to four points at the break.

Jacob Atkins' penalty five minutes into the second half extended the Irish lead, but as the game wore on Exeter started to assert themselves as their more experienced replacements - such as Champions Cup final winners Joe Simmonds and Ollie Devoto - came to the fore.

Basham went to the sin bin for a high hit on O'Brien as he tried to go in from close range, and from the resulting penalty Juan-Martin Gonzalez superbly stopped Rus Tuima as he tried to go over under the posts.

Irish were fortunate not to have another off the field when Ciaran Parker left Jannes Kirsten unconscious after a tackle, soon after as the game went into extra time.

Parker almost scored in the sixth minute of additional time when he dived over after seven phases of pressure on the Exeter line, but Christ Tshiunza held him up - however, with a penalty advantage Atkins kicked over a straightforward three-pointer to put Irish ahead once more.

From the kick-off Tom Wyatt broke through and set up a good field position, which Exeter eventually capitalised on as South African flanker Davis went over from a couple of metres with the final play of the first 10-minute extra period.

As both teams tired, Irish looked as though they might go on and win it as they hammered at Exeter deep in their 22. But the Chiefs defence superbly repelled 13 phases of Irish pressure and then won a turnover from a penalty to win them the title on the Exiles' home turf.

A push for the top four?

Exeter used their previous two cup domestic victories as a springboard for better things.

Their 2014 victory was their first-ever trophy and laid the foundations for their first league title three years later, while 2018's victory gave experience to players that would help them go on and win a European and domestic double two years later.

Exeter will hope this year's crop of finalists will use the experience to push the Chiefs back to where they feel they belong - in the Premiership's top four.

The Chiefs missed out on the play-offs for the first time since 2016 last season and face a fight to make it this term.

But the club will hope the likes of Dan John, Tuima and Patrick Schickerling can use the experience of this win to fuel a new period of success, as a host of experienced stars such as Sam Simmonds, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jack Nowell prepare to leave.

Exeter skills coach Ricky Pellow told BBC Radio Devon:

"Full credit to London Irish, they were a hell of a side and they put us under a lot of pressure.

"We've just been in the dressing room singing our song and I think it's the loudest it's ever been, just because the boys knew how much it meant to everyone and to the club as well.

"There were points where we thought they were going to pull a bigger lead away from us, but what we did do was keep within a score, and when we went into extra time our set-piece got a bit of clarity back and that allowed us to take territory.

"Credit to both clubs that they picked the players that went into the group stages and got them into the final, and what a hell of a game."

London Irish assistant coach Declan Danaher told BBC Radio London:

"I'm massively proud, 48 guys have been involved in the competition and it's testament to all of them that we got here today.

"I think my feeling now, and it's one I'll remind myself of tomorrow morning, is that we'd rather be in these games than not - you've got to be in the mix to win it.

"It's all part of the journey for us at the moment, and it doesn't feel like it right now, but we'll be better for it at some point in the future.

"It just felt as though the door was getting firmly slammed constantly in our faces and that's a testament to Exeter as a team and congratulations to them, it's a hell of a win."

London Irish: Stokes; Williams, Joseph, Hitchcock, Dykes; Atkins, O'Sullivan; Gigena, Ruiz, Chawatama, Caulfield, Munga, Cooke (capt), Basham, Fa'aso'o.

Replacements: Cornish, Haffar, Parker, Scragg, Gonzalez, Englefield, Poolman, Harmes.

Exeter Chiefs: Wyatt; John, O'Brien, Hendrickson, O'Loughlin; Jenkins, Cairns; Southworth, Innard (capt), Schickerling, Williams, Dunne, Tshiunza, Davis, Tuima.

Replacements: Harris, Kenny, Iosefa-Scott, Teague, Kirsten, Becconsall, Devoto, J Simmonds.