Michael Cheika’s appointment as Leicester manager began with a dramatic win as the Tigers won 17-14 in the Gallagher Premiership at Sandy Park.
Wales international flanker Tommy Riffel netted in the second minute of added time to seal a fine away win.
A mistake-filled game kept the game stuck in second gear, but second-half goals from No.8 Greg Fisilau and scrum-half Tom Cairns seemed to give Exeter some breathing room.
Chiefs full-back Josh Hodge converted twice but the Tigers would not sit still and a touchdown from flanker Hanlo Liebenburg gave them hope, while Jamie Silcock also had a drop goal and conversion, and Ben Bola-Bola added another goal to complement Riffel’s decisive effort.
Former Australia and Argentina boss Sheikha was appointed as Dan McKellar’s successor this summer and is tasked with reviving the club’s fortunes after they finished eighth in the Premier League last season.
Sarries start season with win at Gloucester
Saracens started their Premiership season in impressive style with a bonus-point win over Gloucester at Kingsholm.
With captain Owen Farrell out, new signing Fergus Burke stepped in perfectly as the visitors cruised to a morale-boosting 35-26 win.
Andy Onyama-Christie scored two tries, Ivan van Zyl and Tobias Elliott added the others, while Burke converted two goals and kicked two penalties.
Gloucester’s Freddie Thomas, Freddie Clarke, Jack Clement and Sep Blake scored, while George Barton added three conversions.
Bath exact revenge on champions Northampton in Premiership opener
Bath started their league season with a 38-16 win at the Recreation Ground as they bounced back from a 2-1 defeat to Premiership champions Northampton.
Three months after their narrow final defeat to Saints, Johan van Graan’s side impressed in their opening game.
And tries from wing Joe Cokanasi, flanker Ted Hill, scrum-half Ben Spencer, centre Ollie Lawrence and substitute Jaco Coutts gave them a bonus-point win.
Fly-half Finn Russell converted five times and kicked a penalty, and Northampton had little to complain about.
Flanker Josh Kemeny made his Premiership debut for the Saints and Finn Smith converted and kicked three penalties, but they never posed a serious threat to finish top of the Western Division.
Bristol start Premiership season with win over Newcastle
Bristol kick-started their Premiership season with a 24-3 away win over a much-improved Newcastle side on Friday night.
Under overcast skies in the north-east, Newcastle and Bristol entered the second half in a fierce arm wrestling match.
Newcastle, who have been strengthening their pre-season throughout the summer under director of rugby Steve Diamond, face a much tougher test than the team that suffered a record 85-14 defeat at Ashton Gate five months ago and lost their 22nd successive league game.
A Max Malins double, tries from James Williams and Siva Naulago and two conversions from AJ MacGinty secured Bristol a bonus-point win at Kingston Park, with Newcastle only managing three points from the boot of fly-half Brett Connon.
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