Preview: Blues v Chiefs
By Mark Stevens
25/8/17
Rob Baxter says all eyes will be on his Exeter Chiefs side as they look to wrap up their pre-season plans in tonight’s friendly against Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park (7:15pm).
Having watched a large nucleus of his squad emerge victorious from run-outs against the Cornish Pirates and the Dragons last weekend, it will be a more refined Chiefs party that heads to the Welsh capital for this final run-out.
Keen to get his troops battle hardened ahead of next week’s Aviva Premiership opener away to Gloucester, Baxter has used this week’s training to spell out his demands of what is expected moving forward.
“The key thing I’ll look at heading into the Cardiff game, rather than the score or how we play, will be the levels of intensity we are willing to go to,” said Baxter. “Some of that will come from the scientific data we gather, like GPS and heart rate monitors, but a fair bit will come through in how long the ball is on the field - and how hard we are prepare dot work for during long periods of the game.
“For us the challenge is now about easing our way into the Premiership, the challenge is more about the players challenging themselves to now go out and play at the top end of their capabilities. I’ve not hidden from the players that the guys I will feel most comfortable about going into the Gloucester game will be those who are ready to play the high end of their physical and mental capabilities.”
Baxter will, however, have been quietly impressed by the displays of many of his players during last weekend’s two fixtures at Sandy Park, as well as an internal 40-minute run-out which was added following the postponement of a scheduled friendly against ASM Clermont Auvergne.
“In a lot of ways we got exactly what we anted out of the two games last week, simply because the important thing was we wanted to make sure we had a little more game time in our lungs and in our legs than we got last season,” explained the Chiefs Director of Rugby.
“For us, the easiest way to do that and keep everyone on the same training regime as one another was to have the double header. That way we got way more players with 80 minutes under their belts and we’ve been able to train as one big group this week.
“Thankfully, we didn’t pick up too many injuries, yet we came though playing at a decent intensity, particularly in the second game [against the Dragons]. We were a lot more disciplined in that game and that in turn meant the intensity of the game stayed a lot higher.
“We’ve run well this week, the guys have trained and recovered well, and now we’re ready to go again. We’re going to take a smaller squad to Cardiff this week, but I’ve challenged those that are travelling to take another step towards building the intensity levels that we will need to have ready for playing in the Premiership.”
Standing in the way of the visitors tonight will be a Cardiff line-up, which includes former Chief Damian Welch. He will be making his first appearance for the Welsh region since signing in the summer, whilst another familiar face, Tom James, starts on the bench.
Baxter admits it should be a “decent test” for his players heading into the new top flight season, although of his six summer signings, only Aussie scrum-half Nic White starts against the Blues. Back-row forward Matt Kvesic is named on the bench following a decent debut against the Pirates last time out.
“It is a little bit tougher for the new guys coming in, just because they have to get up to speed with everything,” added Baxter. ’That said, the thing that lets you thrive as a player and lets you really express yourself and work flat out is the confidence you get from knowing what is going on. That does take time to pick up - and it certainly takes more than one game - we are aware of that.
“However, the good thing is that we’re now expecting the progress of those new guys to really accelerate quite quickly as get more and more into games. Whether they get in the frontline team or the A League, there is a lot of rugby around at the moment, so we expect them all to make big strides.
“We’re also expecting to see the group as a whole really step up the more they play and the more they work on formations. As I said, we’re testing them a little bit different this year and we want to push themselves as hard as they can go. Yes, you can do that in training and in things you do in the gym, but it’s totally different when it comes to games. Then you have to maintain discipline levels and maintain things when the opposition are really coming at you.
“Looking at Cardiff this week, we know they will be a good side, well prepared, but that’s what we want heading into the Premiership.”
EXETER CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE CARDIFF BLUES
15 Phil Dollman
14 Olly Woodburn
13 Michele Campagnaro
12 Ian Whitten
11 James Short
10 Henry Slade
9 Nic White
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Harry Williams
4 Dave Dennis
5 Jonny Hill
6 Sam Skinner
7 Don Armand
8 Sam Simmonds
Replacements
16 Elvis Taione
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Tomas Francis
19 Ollie Atkins
20 Matt Kvesic
21 Jack Maunder
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Max Bodilly