Exeter might have been showing off their new East Stand but this game nearly went west before Stuart Hogg finished it off with six minutes left. First-half tries from Tom O’Flaherty and Jonny Hill plus almost total dominance of possession gave Exeter a 12-3 lead with 10 minutes to go but it should have been double that. Then the game was turned on its head when the Bristol replacement Henry Purdy intercepted Joe Simmonds’ pass on the halfway line and went in under the posts. The Bears could hardly believe their luck. They had barely landed a punch but were still in with a chance. Exeter had not scored since Hill’s effort on 31 minutes but camped on the Bristol line and Simmonds’ next long pass found its target and Hogg scooted over to settle it. Callum Sheedy’s late penalty did earn Bristol a bonus point which had not seemed likely at half-time. Exeter played with an intensity and zip that has not always been evident this season and may just have turned the corner with the Premiership season around half-gone, but their coaches were dismayed by the lack of killer instinct. “I think the players got nervous,” said the head coach, Ali Hepher. “We had plenty of opportunities, especially at the end of the first half and start of the second, and we tightened up a little bit and made a few errors.” Bristol did lose Charles Piutau after 24 minutes to injury, making them reshuffle the back three, and at the end they had the hooker Harry Thacker on the wing but stayed in the game despite their lineout misfiring. “We are not far away. We didn’t get a chance to fire too much at the start and at 12-3 down it is about staying in the fight. We did a good job to get a bonus point,” said the director of rugby, Pat Lam. But Bristol are still without a league win since 6 November and this was their fourth Premiership defeat in a row. The new stand is not quite finished but it was open for business as Sandy Park hosted its biggest crowd. Once completed, the capacity will be around 16,000 and this attendance of 14,100 beats even the 2015 World Cup. The landmark of scoring the first try in the shadow of the new stand fell to O’Flaherty but it was made by his opposite wing Jack Nowell. Nowell came off his flank, after Hill had won a lineout, and popped up in midfield for the ball before kicking it through to the 22. Hogg picked up without breaking stride and put O’Flaherty over. Nowell was sparky thoughout, looking sharp and back to his England best after losing more than 10kg in the past year and Eddie Jones will have taken note. “He has been incredible for us, and I dare say people will be looking at him. Hopefully, he goes back in the international set-up, because that’s where he deserves to be,” added Hepher. On half an hour Exeter went back to type for their second try with Hill taking two tacklers with him over the line after drives from Dave Ewers and Sam Simmonds. It was only 12-3 but it seemed like a chasm with Exeter having more than three-quarters of the ball in the first period. When Bristol did make it into the 22 after 50 minutes, Exeter kept them out and Nowell turned the ball over on the Chiefs’ line to frustrate the visitors even more. Henry Slade then dived in for an interception on the Bristol line leaving the Bears centre Semi Radrada free to rush upfield in another glimmer of hope for the visitors before the move broke down when the Fijian ignored his support runners. Then Purdy opened the possibility of an away win before Hogg slammed the door shut.