Baxter's verdict on Tigers loss

By Mark Stevens

Rob Baxter praised his side’s fighting spirit as they claimed what could be a crucial losing bonus point from their trip to Leicester Tigers.

Henry Slade’s last-gasp penalty ensured Exeter Chiefs headed home from Welford Road with at least some reward from their latest outing in the East Midlands, but a frustrated Baxter admitted at the final whistle that it could easily have been more for his side.

The Exeter head coach bemoaned his side’s first half showing as the key reason behind his team slipping to defeat - and despite the elements being in their favour and his side controlling a lot of possession and territory, it was the Tigers who led 12-3 at the break thanks to four penalties from fly-half Freddie Burns.

“I came in at half-time quite frustrated, but after half-time we turned around against the elements and were a lot stronger and a lot tougher,” explained Baxter.  “Our soft penalty count went down, we weathered moments of pressure on our 22 very well and we weathered pressure on the scoreboard very well.

“In the first half, though, we just weren’t mentally strong enough to withstand any pressure at all. Great credit to Leicester, they weathered an awful lot of possession from us and an awful lot of phases. They limited our scoring opportunities massively, so great credit to them

“That is a big lesson for us to learn because it was almost the mirror image of what we were like. Any time Leicester got possession in our half we gave away quite soft penalties. That allowed Leicester to control the scoreboard and meant we couldn’t put them under pressure with the elements.”

Although the defeat saw the Chiefs drop down the standings, Baxter refused to be too downbeat by the end outcome.

"I'm not frustrated at all, a bonus point away at Welford Road this time of year is always good," said Baxter.

"When you come here you have to play very, very well to get anything. I think we played very well in the second-half, I think all our frustrations as a team, and my frustration as a coach was with our first-half. We just weren't mentally strong enough to withstand any kind of pressure at all.

“I was ultimately really really pleased with the bonus point and I am kind of pleased with how we came through in the end. We learnt a lot about staying in the fight, having to be physical yet cool and calm and make good decisions. I think we have learned a lot from that. I really enjoy coming to Welford Road because your players have to play really well.”