After falling behind to an unconverted early try from Lee Morley, penalties from Gary Kingdom and Tony Yapp put the Chiefs ahead by half-time.

Having started stronger in the second half, Exeter's pressure paid off when Jason Luff broke through Nottingham's visiting back row to score a try.

And, having converted that, Kingdom then also kicked the crucial penalty.

The Chiefs, who lost in the final last year to Cornish Pirates, missed out on the chance of an all-Devon final at Twickenham as local rivals Plymouth Albion were beaten 22-8 at home by Northampton in the other semi.