Chiefs side to face Bristol

By Mark Stevens

With a first pre-season run-out already in the tank, Exeter Chiefs embark on their latest outing tomorrow against Bristol with head coach Rob Baxter insisting the battle for starting spots is now well and truly on.

Having overcome Scarlets 23-15 on their own turf last Saturday, the Chiefs now engage in battle against a Bristol side who themselves are still licking their wounds following a heavy 69-5 drubbing at the hands of old rivals Bath last time out.

A week on from both those fixtures, Baxter duly noted the scoreline from Bristol’s mauling at the Rec, but refuses to read too much into the overall outcome.

Instead the Exeter leader knows the Championship outfit, who are now under the guidance of former England and Scotland head coach Andy Robinson, will be keen to put right many of the issues that hurt them – and expects them to pose a creditable threat to his team at Sandy Park (3pm).

“We’re not reading too much into their result last week,” said Baxter. “Of course they’ll be disappointed with certain elements and the end result, but at the same time you have to remember it’s pre-season and that’s often when you learn the most about your team.

“Looking at this weekend, we’re expecting some kind of reaction from them and we know they have a good squad, which they have strengthened with some big signings.”

And whilst Baxter and the Chiefs will have done plenty of homework on Bristol ahead of this latest match-up, it’s honing their own game plan which has occupied most of their attentions this week.

“We were pleased to come away with a good win and a good performance up at the Scarlets,” admitted Baxter. “For a first game of pre-season there were certainly lots of positives to take away. The biggest, I guess, was the way we adapted to not only the conditions, but also the new rules and the referee.

“In the past that’s something which has at times taken us a while to get our heads around, so to get it up and running so early in a season is an important quality to have within the team.

“Now, I’m looking for the guys to not only build on that performance up in Llanelli, but at the same time develop their games even further. There were people last week who certainly showed their qualities and staked their claim – and I’m hoping we will have a similar story this weekend.

“I’ve said to the guys that these are the games which are going to decide who will feature in that first Premiership squad up at Northampton in a few weeks time. If you look at the team we picked last week and now the team we’ve picked for this weekend, any one of those players we know could do a job in the Premiership.
“For all of them, the opportunity is certainly there for them to remind us as coaches that they are very good rugby players and that they are capable of playing at a very high standard.”

With competition for places red-hot, Baxter expects the on-field battle to be intense against a Bristol side they last faced during the summer of 2010 when the Chiefs defeated them to win promotion into the Premiership for the first time.

“I think if you look right across the squad there is real competition for places in every position,” he added. “As I said, there are guys who have been working incredibly hard – not just in last week’s game, but also pre-season too – so it’s all encouraging signs.

“What I want to see now, however, is that next step up in standard. From the outset we’ve said we’ll go into that Northampton game having picked the players who are bang on form. This weekend – and again next week – will give everyone their chance to stake their claim.”

Tickets for tomorrow's friendly are available either online by clicking here or through the Trading Post, which is open on Friday from 10am to 4pm. The ticket office will also be open on match-day itself from 12 noon.

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE BRISTOL

15 Jack Arnott
14 Fetu’u Vainikolo
13 Ian Whitten
12 Phil Dollman
11 Tom James
10 Henry Slade
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Ben Moon
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Craig Mitchell
4 Tom Hayes (capt)
5 James Phillips
6 Tom Johnson
7 Ben White
8 Dave Ewers

Replacements (from): Hoani Tui, Alex Brown, Carl Rimmer, Chris Whitehead, Jack Yeandle, Will Carrick-Smith, Kai Horstmann, Justin Blanchet, Joel Conlon, Dave Lewis, Stu Townsend, Ceri Sweeney, Matt Jess, Sam Hill, Jason Shoemark, Sam Blanchet