Baxter hails his Chiefs
By Mark Stevens
22/10/17
Rob Baxter called on his Exeter Chiefs side to deliver a ‘brave performance’ - and they did just that as they maintained their winning start in this season’s European Champions Cup with victory over Montpellier.
Two tries from Don Armand, another from Ian Whitten, plus 12 points from the boot of fly-half Gareth Steenson gave the English champions a 27-24 victory over the big-spending French outfit.
The win - which followed last weekend’s home success over previously unbeaten Glasgow Warriors - ensured the Chiefs kept firmly on the coat tails of Pool 3 leaders Leinster, who they will now meet in back-to-back European encounters in December.
“It was tough and it was a bit up and down at times but, to be fair to the guys, we stuck at it throughout and come the end we were able to force the win,” said Baxter at the final whistle.“We said before the game that we were going put in a brave performance and we did just that. There were times when it got a bit nervy and we started doing one or two things which put us under a little bit of pressure, but overall the guys stuck to task and we’ve got another excellent win under our belts.”
Up against a star-studded Montpellier outfit, the Chiefs fronted up bravely in the face of the French threat, which was led on the day by former Exeter winger Nemani Nadolo.
The Fijian international claimed two of the home side’s four tries, whilst the others went to Joe Tomane and Benoit Paillague, who also landed the remainder of their points with the boot.
In the end, however, it was not enough to see off the never-say-die attitude of the Chiefs, who were spurred on by a boisterous contingent of fans who made the trip from Devon to the South of France.
“The important thing to remember when playing against good sides is that you are going to have moments in the game where they will dent you,” added Baxter. “They will do things against you that will cause you one or two concerns, but it’s how you respond to those moments which make the difference.
“Today, we never panicked, we never lost shape, and we stuck at it. Sometimes, over 80 minutes you have good moments and that’s what happened out there. Ideally, we would have liked to have had a few more, but you could see when we got tempo into the game, especially later on when our forwards really started to give us a platform, and our scrum became a real attacking weapon for us, that was when we came through at our strongest and delivered on those big pressure moments.
“As I said, I’m delighted with the win and with a lot of what we did. At the same time, though, I know we weren’t always perfect and that we can be better going forward. What I’d like was that we had a group of guys who were willing to get their heads down, work really hard, and really go after a big European win. When that happens, you can achieve big things as a side.”
As was the case against Glasgow the week previous, Exeter’s pack of forwards again provided the catalyst for victory. Both Armand and lock Jonny Hill led the way for the visitors, whilst there were some notable cameos off the bench from front-row trio Alec Hepburn, Elvis Taione and Harry Williams, as well as man of the moment Sam Simmonds.
Behind them, Nic White enjoyed a stellar return to his former stomping ground, whilst the form of Henry Slade continues to impress many. The talented playmaker was the stand-out back for the Chiefs, producing an eye-catching display, both in attack and defence.
“I thought Don was outstanding, as was Jonny Hill, who put in a huge defensive shift,” continued Baxter. “Some of his collisions were very big and that helped set the tone for us. Again, Sladey carried strongly in midfield, but I thought it was our collective believe and our collective drive to work hard which ultimately won us the game.
“As I’ve said before, if you stick at things strongly enough, whether that be in the Premiership of Europe, good things can happen.”
And next up for the Chiefs in Europe will be the double-header against Leinster, who have collected maximum reward from both their opening two games against Montpellier and Glasgow Warriors.
Although several weeks away yet, Baxter believes the two games will be “fantastic occasions” adding: “With both of us being unbeaten so far in the pool, I think the Sandy Park clash is going to be a huge game. Equally, I know we will probably end up taking thousands over to Dublin for the second game, so there’s plenty to look forward to.
“For us, the aim coming out of these first two fixtures was to have our destiny in our hands moving forward. Two wins from two games has given us that, but we know we still have plenty to do moving forward in the competition.”