Chiefs side to face Saracens
By Mark Stevens
30/12/22
Rob Baxter says his Exeter Chiefs side must be ready to face the ‘ultimate test’ when they tackle arch rivals Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership tomorrow (3pm).
In what will be their last outing of 2022, the Chiefs head to the capital looking not only to build on their five-game winning streak, but at the same time inflict another telling blow on the league leaders who were defeated in the top-flight for the first time last weekend by London Irish.
Battles between the two clubs have been notorious over the years and the Chiefs Director of Rugby expects another titanic tussle at the StoneX Stadium.
“It is the ultimate test,” said Baxter when quizzed about the task ahead for his side. “They have been the most consistent team in the Premiership this season.It shows how consistent they have been that they are so far in front, whereas everyone else is within one win of each other. The good thing for us is that we’re in that chasing group.”
For the Chiefs to remain there, however, Baxter knows his side will have to be on top of their game.
“We know we have to be good to get anything up there,” he warned. “We can’t have patches in the middle third of the pitch where we lose direction, we lose territory or give up soft penalties like we did last week against Bath. We have to be better and more on it than we were last week.”
Baxter and his fellow coaches have talked about this current block of fixtures forming a crucial period in the season, particularly with a run of home fixtures looming large on the horizon.
“This weekend we’re away, but then we’ve got a of run of three homes games in the Premiership, so it’s important we make the most of that,” said Baxter. “I want to get some real consistency behind us and start to climb the table further.
“For that to happen, we have to decide as a group how good we want to be. If we do that and we’re good, good things will happen. But, all of us have to decide to make that happen and fully commit to it. Saying it here and now, it sounds easy, but it’s the good teams who look at each other and decide to commit and go for it.
“I know when are players are zoned down, focused on themselves and doing their roles, that is when we are very good. It’s when we don’t zone down, that’s when we have issues.”
In recent weeks Baxter has watched on with quiet satisfaction as his team have attacked matches on three different fronts. Back-to-back victories in the Premiership Rugby Cup were then followed up with a Heineken Champions Cup double, before Bath were overcome a week ago in the Premiership.
Now he’s hoping for that run to be extended as the Chiefs look to position themselves amongst the play-off picture heading into the New Year.
“A lot has happened over this past 12 months,” he said. “Not being in the top two last season was a little odd for a lot of people, but I think people will be surprised how excited we as coaches have been about things that have been happening. We’ve brought in a number of young players and we’ve seen some of the older players reinvent themselves.
“You’ve also had the financial issues around the game to contend with, plus the salary cap, but for me, I get quite excited about building new teams and watching things develop. It may not seem that way when I’m sat up in the stands, but there is a lot to get excited about moving forward.
“I had people come up to me after the Bath game who said it was a good win, but we could play better. I actually said to them back, those six seasons where we were in the top two, can you remember how many three or five point wins we had?
“A lot of them couldn’t remember many of them, yet there were a lot and those were the results that ultimately allowed us to grow as a club. That is what we have to use the Bath result for. As I said, it was a good win, which keeps us in the right part of the table and, hopefully, allows us to grow heading into the New Year.
“This could be the period where we see some senior players leave, some younger players grow, and we start to bring that next generation through. This could be the defining period and that’s what I intend it to be.”
Team news for the Chiefs sees Baxter stick with an unchanged back division for tomorrow’s test, but there are changes up front with Ruben Van Heerden, Santiago Grondona and Greg Fisilau all included in place of Dafydd Jenkins, Dave Ewers and Sam Simmonds. It will be a first-ever Premiership start for Fisilau and a first of the season in the top-flight for Grondona. On the bench, the other changes see Lewis Pearson and Rory O’Loughlin come into the squad from that which beat Bath.
