Baxter 'pleased' with win

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes his side had been given the perfect work-out ahead of their return to Aviva Premiership action this Friday at champions Northampton Saints.

In Round Two of their LV= Cup title defence, Devon’s finest maintained their unblemished record by recording a notable 18-6 victory over local rivals Bath Rugby at a packed Sandy Park.

Second half tries from props Carl Rimmer and Moray Low, plus a further eight points from fly-half Gareth Steenson, ensured Baxter’s men ended four weeks of European and domestic Cup action on a high note.

Bath, who played their part in a hard-fought encounter, countered with a penalty in each half from Welsh international Gavin Henson. However, it was the Chiefs who finished the stronger to put themselves top of Pool Four at the halfway stage.

Post-match, a content Baxter reflected on his side’s latest home victory, saying: “It’s not so much the win that was so important today, it’s more we needed a tough work-out like that to take into next week and our return to Premiership action.

“I also think what today showed was it was exactly the right thing to do in terms of picking that team because we were a little messy in some areas and you could see a few of the guys definitely needed the game time.

“As I said, I am really pleased that it was as tough as it was because we need to go back into this next Premiership block with a tough work-out behind us. Had we waited another with some of the these players, we might have got caught out with the intensity that you need to play at.

“This game will show that we have some work ons to do through this shorter week leading into the Saints game, but more so it shows us that we have to be ready to play with tempo; play a tough set-piece game and be a bit more disciplined at times. A plus for is that we didn’t concede too many points today, but we know moving forward we have to step our levels up and that will come with a good blow out like today.”

So as the Chiefs - who currently lie third in the Premiership standards prepare to resume league battle - Baxter will be more than happy with the outcome of the past month where not only does he see his squad topping both their LV= and European pools, but that a great number of his players have been given crucial game time and the chance to impress.

“To be fair, we have won three out of our last four games and we are topping the pools in both competitions, so that is good enough for us at the moment,” added Baxter. ‘That said, we have not run away from the fact that the Premiership remains our priority.

“And in some ways that has put a bit more pressure on our players, especially today, because Bath with all their internationals out and having made a few changes, they would have relished coming down here to have a crack at us and trying to turn over what was pretty much a frontline team.

“For large parts of the game they did that very well, but I was pleased with how our guys came through at the end. More important for us was that we got a decent blow out and good game minutes into our guys. Obviously we’re very pleased with the win, but all credit to Bath as they gave us a decent test as well.”

With little to choose between either side for the best part of 60 minutes, it was the Chiefs who finished the stronger with their bench coming to the fore during the final quarter.

Rimmer and Low both crossed the whitewash late on, whilst the likes of Haydn Thomas, Ben White and former Bath player Ryan Caldwell could all be proud of their endeavours following their introductions from the sidelines.

Afterwards, Baxter praised the contribution his bench made on the eventual outcome, saying: “In some ways it’s mentally easier for the bench to come on when the game is in the balance like today because they know they have to really contribute.

“In recent games the bench has come on when we have been well up in games and we’ve not looked so good in the last quarter and teams have come back at us a bit. Today, though, that wasn’t the case and we grew stronger in that final period.

“I think it’s testament to the whole squad that we are able to produce performances like that. From the outset we knew Bath would take some knocking down. When you look through their squad today, it had a fair few internationals and seasoned Premiership boys in there, so it wasn’t like they were ever going to crumble. We knew it would take time to break them down, but we did that in the end and I’m very pleased.”