Baxter hails 'precious' victory
By Mark Stevens
22/9/18
Rob Baxter hailed what he described as a ‘precious victory’ for his Exeter Chiefs side as they maintained their unbeaten start to the new Gallagher Premiership season, winning 24-17 against Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park.
Sam Simmonds scored two of the visiting tries, while back-row colleague Matt Kvesic also found his way over the whitewash as the visiting Devonians maintained pole position in the table with a fourth successive win.
The Falcons played their part in a physical and dogged display, scoring tries of their own through Zach Kibirgie and Johnny Williams, but it could not prevent the Chiefs from flying home with the all-important four points in the bag.
Post-match, a pleased Baxter assessed his side’s showing, saying: “We’ve come to a team who were top four last year and we’ve won away from home. In the dying minutes there was still a bonus point there for us to try and get, but overall I am a big believer that away wins in the Premiership are precious things and you should cherish them when they come along.
“As we know, you have to work hard for those win, but personally I don’t mind that. Newcastle have a good home record and they are an ambitious side who are trying to knock over big teams. That said, when you wrap it all up, I think it’s been a very successful day for us.”
Having trailed to Kibirige’s early try, the Chiefs hit back strongly with Simmonds - surprisingly left out of Eddie Jones’ England training squad this week - crossing twice before the break from two well-drilled Exeter line-out moves.
Toby Flood and Joe Simmonds exchanged penalties, before the Falcons gave themselves a sniff back into the contest when Johnny Williams snuck over in the corner for a converted score just past the hour mark.
Level at 17-17, it was the Chiefs who rallied in the final quarter, creating a third try through flanker Kvesic, which replacement fly-half Gareth Steenson was able to convert.
“They disrupted us pretty well and at times tonight we lacked the little bit of clinical edge that we’ve shown in previous games,” said Baxter. “Was tonight perfect? No.
“Were we as clinical as we would have liked? No.
“However, you have to give credit to Newcastle and their tenacity to stand up and fight in those situations. There were numerous situations where a more passive side could have let us squeeze in, but they didn’t allow that and they kept fighting up until the final whistle.
“We know nothing is always going to go your own way, but this group understand that the most important thing is how many try-scoring opportunities you can create. It’s having a mindset that if one gets away from you, then the next opportunity will come. At the end I was screaming to get the ball off the pitch and escape with an away win but they were hunting a bonus-point try!
“Overall, it’s an important win us for and you’ve got to be pleased with that. It’s our longest trip we do, we’ve knocked it off now, we’ve got the points, and for me I’ll take that any time of the year.”