Baxter hails his Chiefs
By Mark Stevens
26/5/19
Rob Baxter was full of praise for his Exeter Chiefs side after they secured themselves a fourth successive Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final appearance with victory over Northampton Saints at Sandy Park.
The Chiefs led from start to finish, eventually triumphing 42-12, courtesy of tries from Harry Williams, Dave Dennis, Tom O’Flaherty, Sam Simmonds, Sam Hill and Joe Simmonds, who also landed six conversions.
It means the Devonians will be heading back to Twickenham this Saturday to face Saracens for a third time in the end of season showpiece.
For 40 minutes at least, the Saints offered a creditable threat to the Chiefs as they claimed a penalty try, as well as a touchdown from Ahsee Tuala, to leave just two points between the two clubs at half time.
The second half, though, belonged to the Chiefs as they not only kept their rivals scoreless, but bagged four tries in the process to ensure their march back to the capital.
Post-game, a delighted Baxter was quick to pay tribute to his squad, who had finished the regular season in pole position, eight points clear of next-best Saracens, who booked their place in the final by seeing off Gloucester in the other last four meeting at Allianz Park.
Now, the two stand-out sides of the English game will lock horns in battle once again with the Chiefs’ Director of Rugby confident his team can replicate the success of their title victory back in 2017.
“I think what you have to try and gain confidence from is that we’ve got a large group of players here, a lot of who were involved last year and had a good season, they’ve had another good season this year, come through some tough games and some tough experiences, so we should be a better team based on that alone.
“Obviously we will have to have a good week and we will have to play well on the day, but we’re an improving side. We’ve scored more league points and more tries again this season than last season and our stats are improving week by week, month by month, season by season. If we continue to make these improvements, then we will pin sides back and that gives us our best opportunities. It’s just got to be about our levels of improvement moving forward that give us confidence.”
In what will be a fourth final appearance in as many years, Baxter and the Chiefs will be well versed in how to prep for the big occasion. Asked if the novelty was beginning to wear off, he replied: “It’s different, I don’t mind telling you that. It’s as different as a Premiership game is different for me now.
“I don’t mind saying our first couple of years in the Premiership, just playing a game of Premiership rugby was an incredible experience. Winning a game was amazing as was cherishing all those moments. The fun element was also great, but now it’s not somuch about fun, but satisfaction and achievement.
“The emotional feelings and rewards are similar, but just that little bit different. Now, it feels great to be in a Premiership final, but it doesn’t feel amazing to be in a Premiership final. It would feel amazing if we were to win it because we’ve only done that once. It doesn’t mean it lacks excitement or importance, if anything we’re probably a team now who are honed down to the fact that it’s only a good day if we win, which is a nice way for us to feel.”
Having stormed into a 14-0 lead, only to be pegged back by the Saints, Baxter praised the way his side reset themselves during the interval to come out firing on all cylinders in the second period.
“There is a reality and that’s you get a little frustrated, by getting a two-score lead and then get pegged back like we did today,” added Baxter. “At the same time, that was a top four clash in the Premiership and top four clashes shouldn’t be decided in the first 20 minutes of the game.
“By nature, they should be more competitive than that, and that’s what it became. Ultimately, we came through it, probably because we do have that bit more consistency and that little bit more ability to control a game than Northampton have. We actually just got our heads down and kept working hard and sticking to what works for us.
“As I say, the momentum as the game goes on can shift in the small moments and that’s where you have to stay really focused. Obviously what today shows is that we’ve got a great bunch of guys that can reset at half time, they can take on messages really well, and they can look at each other at half time and go ‘come on let’s really make it happen and get the job done’.
“I thought we were really good after half time, really good. There were probably a lot of reasons in which we would have been the team under pressure, but we dealt with the pressure incredibly well.”
Coping with pressure, however, is something the Chiefs will need to master against a Saracens outfit, who will be looking to reclaim their Premiership crown to go alongside their already secured European Champions Cup title.
“As coaches we’ve reviewed last year’s final in a lot of detail and there were one or two things that came up in that game that we will remind some individual players about this week,” continued Baxter. “At the same time, we know what Saracens are all about and what they will bring to the game.
“Right now, what I’ve just said to the lads is don’t think too much about Saracens tonight and tomorrow. Instead, I want them to rest up, recover well and come in on Monday feeling fresh, energised and ready to take on board everything that we tell them.
“We’ll look to keep things simple, focus on ourselves and focus on playing well next weekend. If we go ip theta and play well, then we can’t really come away with any complaints. If Saracens beat us, then congratulations to them, but let’s be ready, do everything we can, and really focus on what we can bring to the game.”