Chiefs learn from the experience

 

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter says his side's participation in the Heineken Cup for the first time has been a "massive experience" and that he and his players want more of the same in the future.

The Devon club completed their European exploits for another year against reigning champions Leinster, who arrived in the Westcountry knowing nothing less than a bonus point victory would be enough to keep their own qualification hopes alive.

In the end, the visiting Irishmen completed their intended mission thanks to tries from Gordon D'Arcy, Rob Kearney, Brian O'Driscoll and Jamie Heaslip, plus a further nine points from the boot of fly-half Jonathan Sexton.

However, Exeter's stubborn resistance was there for all to see and Neil Clark's opening touchdown, together with a penalty try and kicks from Gareth Steenson, ensured they went in at the break 17-12 in front.

Sadly, the Chiefs did not replicate quite the same form in the second period, but Baxter remained upbeat about his team's display come the final whistle.

He said: "I am really pleased with the boys, and in some ways I think that was our best performance against what we would describe as the big boys of Leinster and Clermont Auvergne.

“We were going after the game, and it was Leinster who were under pressure for large periods. I was really pleased that we had a little bit better intensity about us tonight, and we challenged ourselves to play at a high intensity for as long as we could.

“We knew we wouldn’t be perfect, but that is just what you have to do, you have to get your intensity levels right first, and then try and bring the quality of your performance up while you are performing at that intensity. That’s what we have got to learn to do to make us a really good Premiership side and a better Heineken Cup side.

“There are times when we are not necessarily missing any tackles or doing too much wrong and yet we concede a try. Tonight Leinster had to work hard for what they got out of the game.

"We got turned over relatively softly at a couple of scrums, which is disappointing, and we got turned over due to a couple of poor handling errors. But what we have to learn to do is get those things better but playing at that high intensity, but I am really pleased with the majority of what we asked the players to do.”

Baxter believes, though, that competing in Europe's premier competition will yield long-term rewards for the Chiefs, who next week return to LV= Cup action against bogey side Bath at the Recreation Ground.

He added: "The reality is we have approached every game as a massive experience for us and as a club the only way you are going to move forward is by going for things flat out. To run away from the Heineken Cup and not use it as a learning experience would be very foolish of us. If you look at things we are still a relatively youing Premiership side and this has been a fantastic opportunity for us to get better.

"We have gone at it full tilt and the level of performance intensity wise we put in today would hold us in good stead in any Premiership game. All the time we are looking to be better than we are. The Heineken Cup is a great opportunity for us to do that and what better chance do we get to better ourselves than playing Leinster who have to get four points and a bonus point. For us, that is a fantastic opportunity to improve as a side, and you don't get that opportunity to play in scenario that often.

"Moving forward we want more of the same, of course, and we have to show that the Heineken Cup has been of great value to us and prove we want to get back there. To do that we have a fight on our hand in the Premiership and we have to make sure we get in that top six, so that is the first target for us."

Exeter suffered a big blow after 13 minutes when blindside flanker Tom Johnson was stretchered off with an injury which will almost certainly mean he misses England’s RBS Six Nations Championship opener against Scotland in early February.

“Tom has done something to his knee and his ankle, but until we get in scanned, we will not know how serious it is,” said Baxter. “But Ben White came on and did very well, and we held our shape very well, and we were competitive, we were good at the breakdown, and defensively we were a bit better tonight.

“A lot of what we did was good, but we learnt that you don’t need to get much wrong against the big boys, and all of a sudden a try goes in, and that is our battle as coaches and as a team. We have got to be excited about performances like that tonight.”

The Chiefs now turn their attention to the LV= Cup for the next two weeks, with Bath away this Saturday followed by Northampton at home the following weekend, and Baxter intends to rest several players.

“There is a reality that this group of players who faced Leinster have had some tough fixtures in both the Heineken Cup and the Premiership and we have got a good squad,” said Baxter. “Those squad players have done really well for us in the LV= Cup so far, and we also have a number of guys coming back from injury, and guys who have been on the bench and want more game time, and our Academy group, and all of those guys will now start to feature over the next two weeks, and it will give us the chance to rest a few people who have had a lot of rugby, and give an opportunity to other players to stake a claim to play in the Premiership games.”