Chiefs seeking immediate response

By Mark Stevens
24/10/18

Wilhem Van Der Sluys insists there will be a response from Exeter Chiefs in the wake of their first defeat of the season.

Rob Baxter's side suffered their first slip-up last weekend when they went down 29-25 to Castres in their second Heineken Champions Cup fixture.

South African Van Der Sluys was part of the Chiefs side undone at the Stade Pierre Fabre, a result which has left the current Gallagher Premiership leaders at the foot of Pool Two.

However, the 27-year-old forward is confident there will be a backlash from the Devon club, not just in Europe, but also in domestic matters, starting with Sunday's Premiership Rugby Cup trip to Newcastle Falcons.

"Obviously the boys are gutted with the result," said Van Der Sluys. "It would have been a special result had we come away with the win, especially for me on my Champions Cup debut, but it wasn't to be in the end.

"Looking at the table, we're not out of it by any means, but we'll need to win most, if not all, of our remaining games to give ourselves a chance. As I said, the boys are pretty gutted right now, but at the same time I expect us to bounce back strongly."

Next up for the Chiefs is this weekend's long trek to the North East where they will be looking to kick-off the defence of their Cup crown against a Falcons outfit, who despite languishing at the foot of the Premiership after six rounds, have claimed two notable scalps in the Champions Cup, defeating both RC Toulon and Montpellier in the past fortnight.

"It will be another tough game," warned Van Der Sluys. "Newcastle have picked up some good results recently and we know from playing them in the past that they always put up a fight."

Van Der Sluys was part of the Cup-winning side of last season and he says the competition offers him and other players on the periphery of the Chiefs first team a great opportunity to stake their claims for a more regular starting berth.

"It's a big month coming up, not just for me, but for a few of the other guys in the squad to get some game time under their belts," added Van Der Sluys. "We had a great run in the competition last season and winning the trophy was pretty special.

"Hopefully, we can pick up from where we left off last season, whilst at the same time bounce back from last week. As a club we always go out with a winning mentality every week, so it's just a case of us re-setting ourselves this week and really going after the game at the weekend."