Kata wants to build on Gloucester win

By Mark Stevens
30/1/23

Exeter centre Solomone Kata described his side’s Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester as ‘massive’ after the Chiefs moved back into the play-off places at Sandy Park.

The powerhouse Tongan international scored one of Exeter’s three first half tries in their 24-17 triumph, a result which lifted Rob Baxter’s side above their rivals and into third place in the table.

With just seven games remaining in the regular season, the importance of overcoming one of their closest rivals was not lost on the 28-year-old back at the final whistle.

“It was a good effort from the boys, especially backing up last week [against Castres],” said Kata. “To be honest, the win means a lot, not just to the team, but to the club and the supporters – it’s a massive win for us.”

With only one defeat on home soil since last March – that was a last-gasp loss to Saracens in October – the Chiefs are banking on their Sandy Park fortress to ensure they remain in the top four in the closing week.

“One of our goals in pre-season was that we set out to be hard to be here at home,” explained Kata. “Again today, the boys turned up. All week we had put the focus on ourselves, turning up for the brother next to you, and the boys did that.

“We knew Gloucester could come here and try and play their game, but we worked hard for one another and we stuck to our game plan.”

The Chiefs are not in Premiership action until the visit of second-placed Sale Sharks on Sunday, February 26, but Kata is confident he and his team-mates can maintain their rich vein of form moving forward.

“I don’t tend to look at what’s happening in the table too much, I just focus on the game and trying to get the win,” he added. “We’ve got a week off now, so we will rest up and then come back in looking to get things right for the Sale game. We just want to take things step by step.”