Baxter praises away-day display

By Mark Stevens
19/11/16

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter was full of praise for his side as they returned to winning ways in the Aviva Premiership with a 32-19 victory away to Newcastle Falcons.

Will Chudley’s late try ensured the Devonians made the long trek home with maximum reward as he claimed the all-important touchdown alongside earlier scores from Ollie Devoto (pictured) , Thomas Waldrom and James Short to seal all five points.

Skipper Gareth Steenson kicked the remainder of the points for the Chiefs, whose third victory ensured they moved back into the top four after eights rounds of action.

Post-match, a happy Baxter said: “Great credit to the players, it is a long old trip and Newcastle are looking like a very resilient team, particularly at home, and I don’t think anyone has got five points against them at Kingston Park yet this season.

“It was not always pretty at times and Newcastle had their moments in the game and I don’t think you can say we ever had control of the game for long periods because it see-sawed a bit. But ultimately we got the five points for the long trip home and that is all we could ask for.

“Defensively we were a bit hit and miss at times tonight, but on the whole, we are fighting and getting areas of our game going. Our maul looked strong, we were prepared to work hard for long periods, particularly in attack and multiple phases, and we probably got the rewards for that later in the game, when you saw space start to open up on the outside and guys start to make some real inroads with their carries.

“That comes a lot from the early work you do, and sticking at it. Defensively there were some pretty poor lapses there, and I said to the guys if we really want to start pushing up the league, we have got to toughen up a bit defensively and decide what kind of a team we really want to be seen as.”

Whilst most facets of Exeter’s game stood up well, Baxter admitted there were still areas he was keen to address ahead of this Saturday’s home game against Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park (4:30pm).

He added: “I thought we conceded a few soft penalties and a few soft points tonight, which we just don’t concede when we are really bang on the money, but that is kind of nice in a way.

“It is kind of nice to go to Newcastle and get a five-point win and know we are still improving and we are still going to get better.

“We will have a nice bit of a social on the way home, have a long weekend and then fire into things on Monday with a real energy to put in a big performance at home against Worcester on Saturday and start thinking about back-to-back performances, because that is ultimately what drives you up the Premiership table.”

Having scored three tries earlier in the contest, the Chiefs thought they had scored the bonus point prior to Chudley’s effort when Phil Dollman (pictured) appeared to cross in the same corner following a flowing move.

However, TV replays subsequently showed the Welshman had lost control of the ball in diving over the line and the score was chalked off by referee Tim Wigglesworth.

Baxter continued: “I think Phil is going to get a fair bit of ribbing on the way home over that, and he has already had some in the changing room, and I have given him a bit!

“But ultimately it didn’t cost us, it was a good decision by Will (Chudley) for his try soon after, and that was the real icing on the cake for us.’

Dollman limped away from the incident, having only just come back from a broken hand, but Baxter said: “Phil has not had a great amount of game time, he put in a good shift tonight, and there was a lot of movement in the game and the number of metres run will be pretty high for most of the lads.

“The rubber crumb pitch is a different surface and challenges you in different ways, and he has just stiffened up a little bit, that’s all.”