Chiefs side to face Quins
By Mark Stevens
28/2/20
Rob Baxter says it’s the hard work his side are willing to put in now, that will ultimately make the key difference down the line.
The Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby watched on with a glowing sense of pride as his side recorded their biggest win of the season last Sunday, trouncing visiting Northampton Saints 57-7 at Sandy Park.
Exeter’s eight-try victory not only put a significant spanner into the works for the Saints, who had arrived in Devon hot on the heels of their table-topping hosts, but it also helped the Chiefs stretch their lead at the summit of the Gallagher Premiership to eight points.
Now, Baxter is calling for more of the same from his squad ahead of tomorrow’s Round 12 trip to the Twickenham Stoop (3pm), where Paul Gustard’s star-studded Harlequins outfit lie in wait.
“We’re two games into this latest four-game block and we’ve started it pretty well with the two wins against Gloucester and Northampton,” said Baxter. “Now, we’ve got a couple of weeks before we have another week off, so in some ways we can almost look at this as like a mini pre-season.
“That means we have the opportunity to work absolutely flat out and actually prepare ourselves for working at the very peak of our physical capabilities because what will be great is to then have that week off, recharge ourselves, then come back refreshed and ready to perform at a high level again.
“We will then have two weeks before we hit our Heineken Cup quarter-final against Northampton, so I’d like us to see things bigger picture. Yes, I’d like for us to focus in on Harlequins this weekend, but I’d like for our guys to focus in on them and know we have to play well for the whole season because of all the rewards it can give us.
“That is what we have been good at over the last couple of years and it’s what I hope will serve us well again this season. It’s the hard work we do now, the hard work we do on Saturday, that will give us the best opportunity to do well later in the season.”
Certainly, the Chiefs have demonstrated in recent weeks that they are willing to work overtime in their quest for honours this season. However, Baxter insists recent results will count for little unless they continue to drive standards from within.
“As well as we performed last week, I want us to move on from that pretty quickly,” added Baxter. “I want us to have in our minds that we are going to play Northampton here again in a few weeks’ time in a European quarter-final - and that it will be a different game and that we don’t have that nagging voice in the back of our heads saying ‘it was alright last time Northampton came here, it will be alright next time’.
“Anyone who knows rugby knows it actually doesn’t work like that and sometimes the big defeats are often easier to turn round that smaller ones, simply because your motivation will crank up a level and you will find lots of ways to improve your performance. Actually, the battle becomes harder for the team that won.
“That means we have to work extra hard, our attitude has to be spot on, as does our preparation. Some of that prep for that next game has already started today, it’s started this week in training, and it will continue at Harlequins on Saturday.
“I want to see a group of players, both individually and collectively, say this season is in our hands because of how we perform and the things we are doing now. I want to see us getting ready for that Northampton game from now and that means showing we can perform at a high level right here, right now. Those are the challenges I will be setting the team over these next few weeks.”
Not surprisingly, Baxter has resisted tinkering too much with his winning formula from a week ago. Indeed, his three changes up front are purely rotational with international props Alec Hepburn and Enrique Pieretto getting the nod over international props Ben Moon and Harry Williams.
The other change sees Sam Skinner come in for his first Premiership start of the season, taking over from Jonny Hill in the engine room alongside Jannes Kirsten, who was named man of the match against the Saints last time out.
The South African forward was the stand-out figure for the Devonians a week ago, but his team-mates around him were equally impressive, much to the delight of Baxter.
“I’m a bit old school in that I do enjoy watching tries being scored, but I equally like seeing us getting off the line, making those big contact collisions, and just driving teams back at every opportunity,” said Baxter. “Add in what was a very strong set-piece from us, it was those elements that were the foundations of what was a very good win.
“Yes, you can be a very good attacking side, but if you don’t want to defend in between those scores, you never really dominate a game. What let us dominate the scoreboard last week was our defence and it was that which helped create some of our scores. We were able to keep Northampton art arms length for long periods and that was down to our defensive effort, led by a few of our forwards, but backed up by some real hard work from our backs in terms of their kick chase, their line speed and their willingness to win the metres on the floor.
“This weekend will be a similar challenge in a lot of ways, so we know what the challenges are going to be and we have to be willing to work just as hard again.”
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE HARLEQUINS
15 Phil Dollman
14 Tom O'Flaherty
13 Ian Whitten
12 Tom Hendrickson
11 Olly Woodburn
10 Joe Simmonds (capt)
9 Nic White
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Elvis Taione
3 Enrique Pieretto
4 Jannes Kirsten
5 Sam Skinner
6 Dave Ewers
7 Jacques Vermeulen
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Jordon Poole
17 Billy Keast
18 Patrick Schickerling
19 Jonny Hill
20 Don Armand
21 Jack Maunder
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Ollie Devoto
