Joe Simmonds’ last-minute penalty saw 14-man Exeter beat Bristol 22-21 to secure a Heineken Champions Cup spot.

Ian Whitten and Dave Ewers’ tries put Exeter ahead at the break, before Joe Jenkins crossed for Bristol.

Yann Thomas’ close-range try saw Bears go nine points up before Josh Iosefa-Scott’s try for Exeter closed the gap and Simmonds got a late winner.

Victory sees Exeter reach the Champions Cup next season as they move up to sixth place, while Bristol remain eighth, but Gloucester have a game in hand as they aim for a top-eight finish.

Exeter face champions La Rochelle – who winger Jack Nowell is expected to join this summer – in their Champions Cup semi-final in eight days’ time, but will have to do it without Wales lock Jenkins.

His head-to-head hit on Max Lahiff meant an early exit and he could also miss some of Wales’ World Cup warm-up matches depending on how long any ban is.

Bristol took advantage straight away as Kloska burrowed in under the posts, but Exeter fought back well.

Whitten – one of a host of Exeter players such as Luke Cowan-Dickie, Nowell, Stuart Hogg, Ben Moon and Sam and Joe Simmonds who were experiencing their final home game for the club – stuck from close range.

Another of those departing, Ewers, forced his way over just before the break, but as the second half went on it seemed as though the man advantage would tell for the Bears.

Harry Randell’s quick tap penalty set James Williams free and Jenkins was on his shoulder to go in under the posts five minutes after the restart, before Thomas’ try from close range appeared to make the game safe.

But Iosefa-Scott reacted quickest to a mistake from Joe Batley at a line-out to get Exeter to within two points, before Sam Simmonds won a late penalty for the Chiefs that his brother converted.

The win came as Exeter confirmed on social media that scrum-half Jack Maunder and centre Solomone Kata will join the list of players leaving Sandy Park before a summer squad rebuild.

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told BBC Radio Devon:

“I thought today we managed it very well. We probably got the right balance between leaving backs on early on and seven forwards, and as the conditions closed in and it looked like it was going to be very set-piece orientated, going to eight forwards was the key in the end.

“Great credit to the players – it’s a massively difficult scenario. First of all you’ve got to get your attitude right and I thought we did that really well.

“Then you’ve got to execute with some slightly different tactics, and I thought we did that well.

“If there’s one thing I’m delighted for it’s the players – we had a number of players out there playing their last game at Sandy Park in an Exeter Chiefs shirt.

“We wanted the day to go well for them, and as it turned out it’s been a great occasion for them but in a slightly different way in that they’ve battled through a difficult circumstance and got a very important win for us.”

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam told BBC Radio Bristol:

“I was really pleased with how we came out at half-time and took the lead and took hold of the game – and we didn’t finish it off.

“Probably the biggest one was we had a 17-7 penalty count and there was some really poor penalties we gave away, silly ones, which gives up possession, gives up territory, gives up position.

“We feel that we made that pretty easy for them to get those points at the end, and I felt for a lot of the players because the defence was huge.”

Exeter: Hogg; Wyatt, Slade (capt), Whitten, Woodburn: J Simmonds, Becconsall; Abuladze, Frost, Street, Dunne, Jenkins, Ewers, Kirsten, S Simmonds.

Replacements: Yeandle, Hepburn, Iosefa-Scott, Davis, Tshiunza, Townsend, Skinner, O’Brien.

Bristol: Piutau; Naulago, Jenkins, Williams, Ibitoye; Sheedy, Randall (co-capt); Y Thomas, Capon, Lahiff, Batley, Vui, Steven Luatua (co-capt), Jeffries, Harding.

Replacements: Davies, Woolmore, Kloska, Rice, D Thomas, Uren, Bedlow, Lloyd.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.