Match Reaction - Rob Baxter
By Mark Stevens
7/11/21
Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, says he and his players are as ‘frustrated as anyone’ after they slipped to a third home defeat of the season in the Gallagher Premiership against Newcastle Falcons.
Brett Connon’s penalty ten minutes from time proved the decisive blow for the Falcons, who were able to collect their first win in 14 attempts at Sandy Park.
George McGuigan’s converted try had given the visitors an early lead, but the Chiefs levelled things up on the stroke of half time with a converted score from Joe Simmonds.
Don Armand’s converted effort ten minutes into the second half gave the Chiefs the lead for the first time, but with Jack Nowell in the sin-bin, Newcastle hit back with a second try of their own through winger Ben Stevenson.
With time fast running out for Dean Richards’ men, it was replacement Connon who landed a lengthy penalty to seal the points for the Falcons and leave the Chiefs searching for answers.
“It is starting to get frustrating, not just for me but the players as well,” said Baxter. “I thought against London Irish we weren’t where we needed to be emotionally, but I don’t think that was so much the case today.
“I don’t think we have not worked hard, or not turned up, or not had a desperation to win, we just haven’t been able to pull the game together in lots of individual ways.Our game had individual mistakes, it had collective mistakes, and it had errors in pretty much every area of the game, in attack, in defence or around set-piece.
“The one good thing is we have only conceded 15 points, and at home you would expect to win a game when you do that, but we haven’t managed to roll the scoreboard up high enough to get over that hurdle either.”
A high penalty count and some unusual inaccuracies in other facets of the game prove to be the downfall for the Devonians, who had come into the game on a high note after picking up a three win of the season on the road with a hard-fought victory at Gloucester the previous week.
“Last week was a tight game and we came up with the result in the end,” added Baxter. “We probably dug in more than we did today. You can’t say we didn’t have opportunities, we had at least two of three five-metre opportunities, but we just got turned over at the crucial moment. Had they got in, we could easily be stood here celebrating a bonus point win.
“Right now, it’s finding those consistencies. There are reasons for that, I know that, but it does have an affect around things like training, team selection, injuries and unavailabilities. It’s one of those challenges that, right now, we’re not facing off as well as we have in the past.”
With the Premiership set for a two-week break, the Chiefs will now switch their attentions to the Premiership Rugby Cup where Baxter will look to utilise a number of his first-team squad, several of whom have not featured this season.
“This break has probably come at a good time,” he said. “”It gives us a couple of weeks of recovery and will allow us to protect one group of players and give opportunities to another. Right now, it’s not like we are massively performing in the Premiership, so this could be an ideal chance for some guys to step up and be that next generation to start playing.”
The Chiefs kick-off their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign next Saturday with the visit of Bristol Bears to Sandy Park (3pm).