Baxter delighted with Chiefs display
By Mark Stevens
15/2/20
Delighted Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, was full of praise for his side as they marked their return to Gallagher Premiership action with a 26-15 victory over Gloucester at Kingsholm.
Back in top flight action for the first time in weeks, the table-toppers extended their lead with a no-nonsense display against the Cherry & Whites.
Tries from Jacques Vermeulen and Stuart Hogg were the highlights, but so too was the kicking display of skipper Gareth Steenson, whose faultless 16-point haul proved equally as impressive.
Gloucester countered with tries from Jake Polledri and Louis Rees-Zammit, plus five points from the boot of Billy Twelvetrees, but it was never going to be enough to thwart the visiting Chiefs.
Naturally, Baxter was all smiles at the final whistle, describing his side’s showing as “very satisfying.”
“Obviously I’m delighted with the result and with our performance,” he said. “We had a great start to the season on that run of 15 Premiership and Heineken Cup games, but actually the Sale game in our last match was probably one that left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths.
‘We knew we didn’t turn up for 40 minutes in that game. Since then, we’ve had the chance to decompress a little and recharge the batteries and what you saw was our response tonight. We knew coming here was going to be a really tough challenge, especially against a team who will be fighting for the top four, and who have genuine ambitions to win the Premiership.
“Therefore, to come here – in what were difficult conditions; in front of a big crowd; on a Friday night – and then produce what I thought was an exceptional showing of hard work and toughness from the guys, that was very satisfying indeed.
“In some ways the conditions kind of helped us a bit. It meant that you had to keep things relatively simple, you had to try and gain territory as quickly as you could through a kicking game, then when you did have possession in the opposition half you had to try and keep hold of possession for as long as you could to see if opportunities would arise.
“Looking at the game, there weren’t stack and stacks of handling moves, yet we are the team who have run in a long-range try, which has got offloads, carries and passes and everything in it. Gloucester too showed at the end that there were tries out there if you were willing to work hard to create them, but overall that was a game for hard work, toughness and a willingness to just get out there and fight, and I thought we did that in spades tonight.”
Buoyed by the return of international stars such as Hogg, Nic White, Harry Williams and Sam Skinner, it was a powerful Chiefs line-up that were able to assemble for this crunch Round 10 encounter.
With Hogg having copped plenty of flak in recent weeks for errors made whilst on duty with Scotland in the Six Nations Championship, the Scotsman was happy to show to the world that those troubles are firmly behind him and that he remains one of the game’s most gifted talents.
Naturally, Baxter was quick to hail the achievements of his summer signing, whose stunning second half touchdown was his first-ever in the Premiership.
“This is kind of why it’s better to get back on the horse and play,” added Baxter. “Sometimes just getting back to your club, getting back amongst the lads, who will take the mick out of you a bit, give you a hard time in the right way and just have a joke at your expense, those are the guys who can pull you through things pretty quickly.
“In sport that little bit of humour can move you on and give you that defining moment like Stuart had tonight. He led that move from start to finish and you won’t see a guy wrap himself around the ball more than he did.
“The pictures tomorrow are going to be of Stuart Hogg wrapping himself round the ball and scoring a try. For me, that’s the perfect riposte to what has happened over the last few weeks.”
Equally, Baxter was quick to highlight the role of the experienced Steenson, whose four second half penalties helped the Chiefs to decisively pull clear of their rivals.
“It’s kind of funny really, sometimes we get criticised for having a boring game plan of trying to score tries,” added the Exeter coach with a touch of irony. “Tonight we thought let’s do the flair things and take our shots at goal. As it proved, it was the right decisions because it allowed us to build a score. Points were always going to be precious on a night like that and I thought Steeno was faultless in how he led the team and with his kicking.”
Next up for the Chiefs will be next Sunday’s visit of Northampton Saints to Sandy Park and already Baxter is relishing the latest test of his side’s credentials.
“We’ve talked about how this four-game block is going to be tough, yet we’ve come here and knocked off a very good win against a tough Gloucester side,” continued Baxter. “Next week we’re at home and it’s those home games where you should really look to kick on and have some real pride in your performance.
“Obviously we’ve got the added incentive that it’s Northampton, who we will be playing in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals as well, so I’ve no doubt both sides will be looking to knock the stuffing out of each other. That’s the kind of game it will be next week, but it’s one myself and the boys are already looking forward to.”