Chiefs side to face Bath
By Mark Stevens
23/12/22
Tis the day before Christmas and all that is stirring is two heavyweights of the English Rugby scene ready to lock horns in the Gallagher Premiership at Sandy Park tomorrow (3pm).
Exeter Chiefs will welcome local rivals Bath Rugby to Devon for this festive cracker in Round 13 looking to build on what has been an impressive run of form over the past month.
Back-to-back victories against Bath and Gloucester in the Premiership Rugby Cup have ensured the Chiefs of a semi-final spot in the New Year, whilst bonus point wins over Castres and the Bulls have also put Rob Baxter’s side in prime position for further progression in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
Spirits are certainly high within the home camp ahead of this latest assignment, but Director of Rugby Baxter knows his team are set to embark on a pivotal period in this season’s Premiership and it all begins with this Westcountry derby.
“The key for us now is not to draw breath,” he said. “We’ve had two fantastic weeks in the Champions Cup, but now we have to decide to up what we want to do. If we push harder now and have a few good weeks, then all of a sudden the Premiership table can transform and we can sit here and say we are genuinely competitive in every competition.
“Right now, the league is so tight that a run of form from any side and you can transform your situation rapidly. Bath are currently one win behind us, yet if they win this weekend, they can overtake us, that’s the truth. We have to acknowledge that fact and use it as a real driver for us and something which focuses us emotionally.
“That said, we have discussed those things early in the week, the players have trained well, better than last week, so I am already hopeful we are further down the line in terms of preparing for Bath this weekend.”
Buoyed by the return of a number of his star names following the culmination of the Autumn Nations Series, it’s no surprise that Baxter has been encouraged by the form of his team in recent weeks.
“Those guys coming back in have just taken charge of a few things,” he said. “At half time over in Castres, it wasn’t us coaches who did the talking, it was those guys who took charge and how they wanted that game to pursue. They were good again last week, especially later in the week, because as coaches we did the right thing in keeping off them a bit. We saw the emotional batteries had drained a bit, so we let them regroup by the weekend.
“They just about got it right because if you watch that first part of the game, our first set of defence is not great, but it was the final slap in the face that got us back online and we were very good from that point on. Those little emotional highs and lows are very important to deal with week-by-week. Now, we have to switch our focus to getting really excited about the Premiership. Right now, it feels pretty good and that always makes me feel happy because when you get that group aligned and ready to go, they can be very strong.
“What we have to focus on is what we have done very well these last few weeks because the one thing you will have seen is a lot of players take responsibility for themselves and for their part of the game. Anyone watching the last two games, our scrum, our line-out, our set-piece has been very good. There is no magic mystery there, that’s the eight guys all going this is the most important thing in the next 30 seconds and they’ve made it work together.
“We have been very good in those areas, as we have around the breakdown, that’s just because people have taken huge responsibility for those areas and that’s what we have to push forward with. If we do that, we give ourselves every chance of being consistent over the season.”
With Bath first up, followed by subsequent tests against Saracens (away) and Northampton (home) in the top-flight, the Chiefs know a run of results now can propel them into the kind of position they want to be ahead of the resumption of the Six Nations Championship.
“If you look at where we are, we’re currently mid-table in the Premiership, we’ve had two wins in Europe and doing well there, but we’ve got three very important Premiership games coming up,” explained Baxter. “If we can get results out of those games, then we’re going to be in and around that top four.It doesn’t take a genius to work out that these next five or six weeks are going to define our season, so we have to relish every minute of it. Now is the time for us to really roll our sleeves up!”
Standing in the way of the Chiefs will be an ever-improving Bath outfit, who this week signalled their future intentions with the big-money signing of Scottish fly-half Finn Russell from Racing 92.
Russell is not due to start with the club until after next year’s Rugby World Cup in France, but Baxter says those currently pulling on the Blue, Black and White will provide a formidable test for his side this weekend.
“They are an improving side, certainly a lot stronger than they were last season,” warned Baxter. “As many of you know, they were the side we took the longest to beat in the Premiership, Once we did, we’ve kind of had the edge over them in a lot of the games. However, none of them have been games where I’ve sat there all that often and thought we’re fine.
“This weekend will be like every other game, a real test for our guys and one which they will have to be at their best for, but if we get our game in place and we do the things we’ve talked about and play in a similar vein to that last few weeks, then we give ourselves every chance of getting something from the game.”
Team news for the Chiefs sees club captain Jack Yeandle return to the starting line-up on what will be his 200th Premiership game. He replaces Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker as the Cornishman is struggling with a neck issue sustained in last weekend’s European win.
Other changes see Solomone Kata - who impressed off the bench a week ago - start in the centre in place of Rory O’Loughlin, while Josh Hodge comes in at full-back with Stuart Hogg named amongst the replacements.
