Chiefs side to face Sale
By Mark Stevens
25/2/21
Rob Baxter says the short turnaround in games offers his Exeter Chiefs side the perfect opportunity to ‘get back on the horse’ following their narrow Gallagher Premiership at home to Northampton Saints last time out.
Tomorrow, the defending champions take to the road once more for their latest top-flight assignment against Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium (7:45pm).
Positioned second in the standings, just three adrift of leaders Bristol Bears, Baxter says having little time to reflect too much on the Saints performance has in a strange way helped his squad, who instead have spent what little time they had had this week on the training pitch preparing for the Sharks.
“It’s always a tough game, yet we have done pretty well there over the past few years,” said Baxter, whose side have won on their last five visits to Salford. “At the same time, we had done pretty well at home to Northampton up until last week, so things do change. At the moment, I just think we are really looking forward to getting back on the horse and going out to play what will be tough game of rugby.
“Last weekend was frustrating, but actually speaking to some of the lads in the changing rooms after the game, quite a few of them said they were glad it was a short week and that they could get back into playing quickly.
“They had frustrations, not just because of the end result, but more by the fact that they didn’t make the most of the opportunities they had in the game. That’s understandable, but that’s also probably the best emotion to have to get ready to go into a short training week.
“As a player, it’s probably the best type of week to have, just because you literally get two training days, a day off, team run and then you jump onto the bus and you’re off up the road. You then spend a bit of time together in the hotel, you play the game, then you have a long weekend off.
“What they have to do, however, is make sure they have their heads in the right place from now. Personally, I think we will go up there and play well, but we have to play well enough to win, and they are two different things.”
Certainly, the Chiefs did enough last weekend to extend their winning streak to four against the Saints, but it was the stubborn rearguard resistance of the visitors, coupled with a lack of execution which came back to thwart Baxter’s men.
“Normally possession and territory stats, you can look at them and see if you have won the game,” explained Baxter. “We won on the stats front, yet we have lost on the scoreboard, so that is the frustration. In what we’re difficult conditions, I actually thought we did quite well.
“Are there things we need to improve on?
“Of course there are, but when you look at the amount of entries we had into the Saints 22, coupled with the time we spent there, we should have won the game. We didn’t and that’s credit to Northampton for the hard work they put in. It’s also an indicator that we got some things wrong and that there are areas we need to work on, which we will do.”
Some of that work has been carried out in the two training days this week, although Baxter insists that his side remain in a solid position despite that latest setback.
“It’s not like a wheels are falling off scenario,” he said. “We are second in the table and we’re going pretty well. We’re also in the middle of an extended international period, so moving forward there is a lot for us to look forward to.”
Standing in the way of the Chiefs, though, will be a Sharks outfit who are still very much in their infancy under new Director of Rugby, Alex Sanderson, who took charge of the club only last month following the stepping down of previous incumbent, Steve Diamond.
Baxter has studied closely the performances of the Sharks in the lead-up to this latest clash and has noted the subtle changes Sanderson has already tried to implement.
“I’m very aware that Alex has tried to introduce a few ideas of his own, but it does take time for them to fully embed,” said Baxter. “You can see there has been a fair bit of rotation in recent weeks, some of that will be him looking at players, some of it will be giving opportunities to others, or some of it will be just rotation.
“What we have seen, though, is some strong performances. Right now, I don’t know what to fully expect from them – and with it being a short turnaround week – the best thing for us to do is focus on ourselves and the improvements and the focus we want to bring to the game.”
Team news for the Chiefs sees Baxter make two changes to his pack from last weekend. In the second-row, Sean Lonsdale comes in for his first start of the season in place of Will Witty, while South African Jacques Vermeulen is also included for the first time this season, having recovered from shoulder surgery. He replaces Richard Capstick at open-side.
Behind them, Joe Simmonds returns at fly-half, while a switch around in the back three sees Facundo Cordero return on the wing with Josh Hodge switching to full-back as Stuart Hogg is on international duty with Scotland.
On the bench, there is a welcome return to the fold for prop Ben Moon, while Stu Townsend is also included as scrum-half replacement.
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE SALE SHARKS
15 Josh Hodge
14 Facundo Cordero
13 Ian Whitten
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Jack Maunder
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Harry Williams
4 Sean Lonsdale
5 Sam Skinner
6 Dave Ewers
7 Jacques Vermeulen
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Jack Innard
17 Ben Moon
18 Marcus Street
19 Don Armand
20 Richard Capstick
21 Stu Townsend
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Tom Hendrickson