Exeter began their Aviva Premiership title defence by suffering a dramatic late defeat against Gloucester at Kingsholm.

Gloucester fullback Jason Woodward crossed for a try two minutes into injury time, with Billy Twelvetrees' conversion sealing a 28-21 victory.

It meant that Exeter fell one result short of breaking Leicester's 17-game unbeaten Premiership record set in 1999-2000 as Gloucester became the first team since Bath 10 months ago to lower Chiefs' colours in league combat.

Lock Jeremy Thrush scored two first-half tries for the home side, cancelling out Exeter No. 8 Sam Simmonds' double, before Gloucester number eight Ben Morgan touched down after 56 minutes.

Billy Burns converted three Gloucester touchdowns, with his opposite number Gareth Steenson booting two conversions, before Exeter wing Olly Woodburn struck nine minutes from time and Henry Slade added the extras.

Slade then missed a penalty two minutes from time, and Gloucester rallied in head coach Johan Ackermann's first game at the helm, sealing a bonus point triumph when Twelvetrees sent Woodward scampering over.

Gloucester were without injured quartet Owen Williams, Ross Moriarty, Tom Marshall and Charlie Sharples, but Woodward and prop Fraser Balmain were both handed Premiership debuts.

Exeter paraded summer signing Nic White in the number nine shirt, with British and Irish Lions wing Jack Nowell among their replacements, and there was a start for former Gloucester flanker Matt Kvesic, who took over from an injured Dave Dennis.

And Exeter were off and running inside five minutes, breaching Gloucester's defence after wing Max Bodilly broke clear in space and quickly recycled possession saw key support roles for Phil Dollman and Slade, before Simmonds crashed over.

Steenson's touchline conversion made it 7-0, and it set the tone for an opening quarter when Gloucester spent 90 per cent of it inside their own half without making one excursion into Exeter's 22.

But when the home side finally got close to Exeter's line, they made it count, with the forwards adopting a direct approach and former New Zealand Test lock Thrush rounding off a converted spell of pressure by touching down, with Burns converting.

Exeter, though, took just four minutes to regain the lead, and it was Simmonds again who Gloucester could not stop, this time beating three defenders on a 20-metre run.

Gloucester were left to reflect on weak defensive work as Steenson converted, yet the home side bounced back again after opting against taking two kickable penalties as half-time approached.

And that bold outlook gained its reward when Thrush was awarded a close-range try following lengthy discussion between referee Matt Carley and television match official Sean Davey, as they checked for a possible double movement, and Burns' conversion made it 14-14.

Gloucester took their momentum into the second period, and they immediately gained a one-man advantage when Steenson received a yellow card for taking Woodward out in the air.

But Gloucester failed to score when Steenson was off, and as the Chiefs' playmaker returned, so Nowell made his entry off the bench, with Exeter looking for a strong final 25 minutes.

Yet Gloucester struck again when Morgan dived over after Carley rightly ruled against a knock-on during a frenzied build-up as the ball bounced off centre Mark Atkinson's knee.

Steenson then spent another 10 minutes off the pitch undergoing a head injury assessment following a collision with substitute Gloucester hooker Motu Matu'u, but Exeter drew level nine minutes from time when Gloucester skipper Willi Heinz's poor clearance only found Woodburn, and he took the chance, with Slade converting.

Gloucester, though, were not to be denied, and Woodward pounced in the dying seconds, sending a 15,500 crowd wild.