Hard work starts now, says Baxter
By Mark Stevens
30/6/17
Rob Baxter says he and fellow coaches are “feeling good” about what lies ahead after he welcomed back the majority of his Exeter Chiefs squad for pre-season training this week.
Just over a month has passed since the Chiefs head coach watched his team lift the Aviva Premiership title for the first time, defeating rivals Wasps in extra-time at a packed Twickenham Stadium.
Since that success, many of the Chiefs have taken the opportunity to rest up and relax, getting themselves ready to go again as they look to defend their top-flight crown.
Having welcomed his squad back for light sessions on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a three-day team bonding trip to Portugal, the hard work will begin in earnest next week.
“We’ve had a few meetings and I’m genuinely feeling good about things,” said Baxter. “Everyone appears to be in a good frame of mind, they look energetic and excited, and they are looking to build on last season.
“I know it’s early days, but I think as a group we’re ready for things. We’ve not tried to say too much or do too much this week, but what we’ve said to the players is that if you’re playing for a side that’s just won the Premiership, that team should be made up of some very special people and very special players.
“For them to be part of that group, now you have to show those same qualities and that means you must be ready to work extremely hard. From what I’ve seen so far, I think they have all taken that on board.”
With Exeter’s international contingent not due back for at least another month, plus the Lions duo of Jack Nowell and Tomas Francis even further behind them, Baxter will not get his full array of talent back until August at the earliest. That means in the meantime others will get their chance to put down early season markers.
Among those looking to impress will be newcomers Matt Kvesic, Nic White, Tom O’Flaherty, Toby Salmon and James Freeman, all of whom have moved to Sandy Park in the close season.
“This is the time of the season where you can show a lot of your qualities,” added Baxter. “By that I mean, not just in terms of what they offer as a rugby player, but also more about what kind of person you are. For the new guys it will take a bit of time for them to get fully up to speed on new systems and new calls, but it shouldn’t take them that long to show other qualities.
“For me, I want to see from all the guys how hard they are prepared to work and how much they are going to buy into everything we want to achieve. As I said, the rugby side will come and develop over time. It’s more about the players working hard, challenging themselves both individually and collectively, and raising the standards we set.
“I want everyone in the squad pushing everyone else, working flat out and getting personal best scores. I should have the conditioners coming back into me and telling me how hard the players are working and naming them individually as being the stand-out performers.”
Certainly, the Chiefs showed last season – particularly in the latter stages of the season – that they are amongst the fittest troops in battle and Baxter wants to see more of the same during this upcoming campaign.
“This week was a start point for us, but we didn’t tend to overdo things so early in the schedule,” said Baxter. “It’s from next week that we will start driving them forward day by day. A lot of it is mental at the end of the day, but we need to get the guys realising that they can do to these dark places and come through the other side.
“We know when we get it right, we have a group who are willing to go flat out and go to dark places in a bid to win rugby matches. That’s not something you coach, but it’s something you can instil into people. As I’ve said before, I don’t mind if people make mistakes, so long as they doing things flat out and at full speed. Working hard like that, it gives us as coaches something to work with.”
And with such a short turnaround from the end of last season to that of this season, Baxter is confident it won’t take long for his players to get back up to speed pretty quickly. Indeed, he believes the lessons of last season and that of the previous campaign will mean that his squad are better equipped to tackle the early weeks of the new season.
“I think a lot of the players have adjusted,” he added. “They know the mistakes of last season and not saying goodbye to the season before. Yes, I’m aware people will be talking a lot more about us because we’re champions, but it’s nothing something we are talking about ourselves. Instead, we are talking more about the qualities we need to show, not just in pre-season, but also in the build-up to those opening games of the Premiership.
“If we get those things sorted right, then I have every confidence that we can attack the new season in the right frame of mind and with some real confidence and belief.”