HENRY Slade landed the knockout blow as Exeter Chiefs claimed a brutal points victory over Benetton to book their place in the European Challenge Cup semi-finals.

With the contest deep into the final round and hanging in the balance, the England international stepped up and delivered the finish – a 79th-minute penalty, his seventh from seven – clean, clinical and fight-ending.

Benetton had thrown everything at their rivals, dominating long spells of the bout, but Rob Baxter’s Chiefs absorbed it and waited for their moment. When it came, Slade didn’t miss.

It was the kind of composure and control that raises serious questions for England head coach Steve Borthwick. Overlooked during the Six Nations, the 33-year-old is now surging into peak form ahead of England’s summer tour to South Africa and Argentina. One of just three survivors from Exeter’s 2020 European title-winning side, he dictated the tempo, punished errors, and ultimately decided the outcome.

This was no tactical chess match – it was a scrap.

Benetton came out swinging, Niccolò Cannone crashing over inside five minutes to set the tone. The Chiefs responded instantly, Olly Woodburn finishing sharply after Slade sparked the move, and from there it became a full-throttle exchange of blows.

A penalty try and yellow card for Onisi Ratave looked like it might tilt the fight decisively Exeter’s way, but even a man down, Benetton refused to stay on the ropes. Jacob Umaga hit back after a thundering break from Tommaso Menoncello, and the momentum kept shifting.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed. Slade kept the scoreboard ticking. Ratave powered over again, before Umaga split the posts from distance. At 24-24 at the break, neither side had landed a telling blow.

The second half was just as punishing. Harvey Skinner and Andrea Zambonin struck for the visitors, Bautista Bernasconi responded, before Umaga edged Benetton in front with 14 minutes remaining.

However, the Chiefs dug in. Slade dragged them level from range, then controlled the closing exchanges with the calm of a veteran fighter. Territory gained. Pressure applied. One last infringement forced. From 25 metres, the finish was emphatic. Slade’s boot did the rest.

The Devonians now advance to face Ulster in the semi-finals on Saturday, May 2 (5.30pm), while the Dragons meet Montpellier in the other last-four clash.

Baxter said: “It had everything didn't it? I think it was one of those games where you almost don’t want to have a loser, because both teams contributed a massive amount to the game, but obviously I’m delighted.

“I see a lot of positives in the way this group is going. We stayed in it when it was tough. We came back from being behind. Sucker punches didn't hurt us. We rolled with it and we got back on the front foot.

“In the end we've seen the game off in pretty dramatic style, but we've done it.

“I’ve said to the lads: ‘Sometimes you talk about being a winner, you act like being a winner, you think about it, and sometimes you make it happen – and we’ve made it happen today.

“The game is made up of hundreds and thousands of moments and you never know which is the important one, so you have to focus on all of them, and the more you focus on them the more things will go your way.”