Exeter v Racing 92: Champions Cup final predictions, free betting tips & TV

Free rugby tips, best bets and analysis for Exeter v Racing 92 in the European Champions Cup final at Ashton Gate.

Where to watch

Channel 4 & BT Sport 2, 4.45pm Saturday

Best bet

Exeter -5
2pts 10-11 general

Sam Simmonds to score a try
1pts 7-4 general

Match preview

Only four teams this century have won the European Champions Cup in their first appearance in the final but Exeter look perfectly placed to reach a new high and be crowned kings of the rugby continent.

European rugby's top table has become a closed shop in recent years, and just five teams have contested the last seven finals.

Racing are one of those teams, along with Saracens, Leinster, Clermont and Toulon, having lost the 2016 and 2018 finals, while Exeter's only previous appearance in the knockout stages was a single quarter-final defeat.

So the teams' pedigrees are starkly different, and so are their profiles. Paris giants Racing, who play at the amazing La Defense Arena, are a wealthy side who have picked off talent from around the world while Exeter, despite a few big-name signings, prize their local roots and their strength comes through their unity rather than individual talent.

There's a big difference in playing style too. Of course Racing have a strong pack and do the basics well, as would be expected of a side in their third final in five years.

But Exeter have taken their forward play to a new level, and are renowned in the Premiership for their ability to dominate possession and work tirelessly through their forwards to gain good positions from which to attack.

The Chiefs' driving maul is near-unstoppable from five yards out so any penalty given up nearly always leads to a kick to the corner and a real chance of a try.

Racing, with internationals Virimi Vakatawa, Juan Imhoff and Simon Zebo, all marshalled by talented Scotland fly-half Finn Russell plus Wallaby playmaker Kurtley Beale on the bench, have all the ingredients to conjure up a moment of magic to win any game.

That was just what they did against Saracens in the semi-finals, when Russell's deft kick produced the deciding try for Imhoff with four minutes to go.

However, Exeter have time and again proved themselves masters at snuffing out teams who rely on that kind of opportunism, and it's telling that both Sarries and Leinster managed to do just that in their final victories over the Paris outfit. Racing failed to score a try in both those game and may well find it's third time unlucky against a relentless Chiefs side.

Another noticeable facet of Exeter's play is how many tries come from their forwards, mostly from their driving maul.

Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill, Jacques Vermeulen and Harry Williams have all been on the scoresheet in Europe this season but Sam Simmonds leads the way with seven tries.

The Chiefs number eight heads the tryscorer market, a shorter price than the likes of Stuart Hogg or Racing's Imhoff and Vakatawa but his tally this season and Exeter's continual effective use of the drive make him worth a bet.

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