Scrum-half Richard Bolt scored a try as he made his first start of the season

A strong second half performance saw Exeter Chiefs beat Newbury 44-5 to give Robin Cowling a win in his first game in temporary charge.

A Paul McKenzie try and a penalty from Danny Gray helped the Chiefs to a 13-0 lead before Ross Moon crossed the line to cut the deficit for Newbury.

But the Chiefs rallied in the second half with the wind at their backs.

Tom Johnson, Mark Fatialofa, Richard Bolt and Shane Kingsland all went over in the second period to seal the win.

The victory sees Exeter go top of National League One for at least 24 hours as previous leaders Leeds take on the Cornish Pirates on Sunday.

Exeter Chiefs centre Paul McKenzie told BBC Radio Devon:

"All we can do is put pressure on Leeds. They've had a rocky period in recent times and we hope that the Cornish Pirates can do us a favour on Sunday.

"It's going to be a massive push for the rest of the season but we know we're a good team even though we've hit a bit of a rocky patch recently."

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