Chiefs side to face Bath

By Mark Stevens
30/12/16

Having positioned themselves back amongst the top four in the Aviva Premiership, Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter says it’s imperative his side now fight “tooth and nail” to remain there.

The Chiefs leapfrogged Leicester Tigers into fourth spot on Christmas Eve by recording a maximum haul in their 31-10 victory over the Midlanders at a packed out Sandy Park.

Now, Baxter’s troops are readying themselves for their next battle, this time against local rivals Bath at a sold out Recreation Ground tomorrow (3pm).

It’s an encounter which has all the makings of a festive crackerjack, not least because it’s a derby tussle, but because there are numerous other sub plots to contend with ahead of kick-off.

The first of those plots is that Bath claimed a last-gasp victory when the two met at Sandy Park back in late October; the next is that the Chiefs have never won at the Rec in the Premiership; whilst the final conundrum is that just a point separates the two sides in the battle for third place.

It’s little wonder therefore that Baxter and his players are relishing signing off what has been a marvellous 2016 for the Devon club on a high note in the famous Roman City.

“Last week [against Leicester] was a good performance from us,” said Baxter. “I think what you are seeing at the moment is that we are on the right track and that we are playing at a  level and an intensity that we feel comfortable with. By playing like that, it makes us very competitive in every game and that’s not just been the last two or three weeks, it’s been pretty much since the Clermont game at home in Europe.

“I know we haven’t won every game since then, but our levels of performance have been pretty high and we’ve been competitive in every game. As I said to the players, that is what you have to aim for every single time you take to the field.  Earlier in the season we weren’t quite hitting those levels, but it certainly feels like we are now.

“The Leicester game was a perfect example of us being competitive in every area and when you do that in a game, then good things will tend to go your way. Looking back at the performance, I thought we maintained our composure and our work-rate throughout the game and in the end that created a lot of positive things that we took from the game.”

Baxter will now be demanding more of the same from the Chiefs against a Bath outfit, who themselves warmed up for their final game of the year with defeat away to second-placed Wasps last time out.

On home soil, however, the visitors need little reminding of the threat that Todd Blackadder’s side pose.

“We’ve looked at the last game between ourselves and them because in Premiership terms it’s not all that long ago,” added Baxter. “They’ve tended to chop and changes during the Challenge Cup, so we’ve looked at the tape again to get some ideas of what will work for us and what they could potentially throw at us this weekend.

“That said, the more important thing when games come thick and fast, like they are now, is to make sure you improve on things you do yourselves, as well as look at what you can drive forward week to week.

“Also, you want to get the players physically and mentally fresh, which I think we’ve done this week. They’ve looked fresh, they’ve looked excited and I think they are all really looking forward to playing in a top four clash in the Premiership. For me, this is what playing at this level is all about, you want to play in big, high-profile, emotional games, where top four places are up for grabs.

“As I said, we got back into the top four last weekend and things are now back in our hands so to speak. If we want to try and get to a Premiership final again, this is the place you need to be and it will be up to other teams to come and try and knock us off that position.

“This weekend we have got a fantastic challenge coming at Bath, who are above us in the league and who have already beaten us this season. For us, it’s a challenge about taking on one of our top four rivals and driving ourselves further up that table. And for us to achieve that, we have got to contribute everything we can to the game.”

Not surprisingly, Baxter sticks with a largely unchanged starting line-up for tomorrow’s encounter. The sole change comes in the back division where England international Henry Slade (pictured) is ruled out with the neck/shoulder injury that forced him off in the first half against the Tigers.

Thankfully, scans have shown nothing to be broken, but his place will be filled this weekend by Sam Hill, who will partner former Bath favourite Ollie Devoto in the midfield. On the bench, Joe Simmonds fills the void left by Hill’s promotion.

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE BATH RUGBY

15 Phil Dollman
14 Jack Nowell
13 Ollie Devoto
12 Sam Hill
11 Olly Woodburn
10 Gareth Steenson (capt)
9 Will Chudley
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Yeandle
3 Tomas Francis
4 Mitch Lees
5 Jonny Hill
6 Dave Dennis
7 Don Armand
8 Thomas Waldrom

16 Luke Cowan-Dickie
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Greg Holmes
19 Ollie Atkins
20 Kai Horstmann
21 Jack Maunder
22 Joe Simmonds
23 James Short