Baxter says strong home form will be season’s launch pad for Chiefs

Director of rugby Rob Baxter says Chiefs have to utilise their opening PREM Cup games to be on strong form heading into their first home game at Sandy Park.

With the women’s Rugby World Cup hitting the knockout stages in Devon this week, the Chiefs men’s season begins with three consecutive away trips before they welcome the newly rebranded Newcastle Red Bulls in October.

Baxter said: “The first step for us towards being the club we want to be, has to be what we do here. Without that, you can almost discount what happens the rest of the season if you’re not good at home.

“We’re not back at Sandy Park until the second round of the league, so we’ve got quite a lot of excitement that I hope will build towards that first game against Newcastle Red Bulls. Let’s hope we head into it relatively injury free, with a lot of guys available for selection and having shown some really good form in the opening games of the cup.

“Without doubt, our aim is to have a big game here, to kick off the home season in as big of a style as we can and take the first step towards getting a big, raucous crowd back at Sandy Park.”

The infrastructure put in by Chiefs for this season looks to be a tough one. Two pre-season blocks have now been completed with an integral focus put on the strength and conditioning aspect of the game.

The introduction of new structure in the defence by Haydn Thomas and the attack by Dave Walder has created an air of refreshment throughout the squad.

As a bi-product, Baxter believes this Chiefs side looks to be a promising one.

He said: “I definitely think fans can be excited about what this team could achieve.

“Watching us in pre-season this year, watching some of the new lads and the excitement around them, as well as watching some of the things that happened in the Ospreys game, they’ve worked incredibly hard.

“These players are going to deserve something out of this season if they keep working like they are now.

“There’s nothing better than being in a pre-season thinking ‘we’ve just got to get a couple of things right, stick together when it gets tough and some nice stories could get written about this season’.

“I always like to start the season by telling the team that they are in charge of their story. That they can write it for themselves and for the team. This season is a real opportunity for some lads to establish a great career going forward.”

The first game against Newcastle Red Bulls falls on Saturday 4 October in Devon. Tickets are still available here.