Chiefs side to face Tigers
By Mark Stevens
25/3/22
Rob Baxter is well aware every game now is ‘must-win’ for his Exeter Chiefs side in their quest to be part of this season’s Gallagher Premiership play-offs.
With just five games remaining, the Chiefs know the pressure is well and truly on, particularly as they occupy the last of the four play-off berths on offer.
Having made the last six Premiership finals, the Devonians are certainly no stranger to the rigours of knockout rugby, and Baxter is hoping they can use that experience to drive them forward over the coming weeks.
On Sunday, they welcome table-topping Leicester Tigers to Sandy Park (3pm) in a game which has all the hallmarks of being an absolute cracker.
“Every game is big now, that’s what makes it exciting,” said Baxter this week. “I’m sure I will be sat in the stands, terrified, nervous, excited, because it’s going to be one of those games. If we win the game, then we give ourselves lots of opportunities for where the season is going to go. If lose the game, then it gets tougher for next week and the next week and the next week after that.
“That said, if we do win, then I do think it could potentially hold us in good stead because it’s a challenge which, if we take it head on, could really develop us to another level of where we probably dropped off last season. I want to see us thriving in this period and I do think we have the capability of doing it, simply because we do have the experience and the ability within the side to succeed, it’s just up to us to see it through.”
Certainly, recent results have put the Chiefs firmly back on track in terms of their qualification hopes, but a slight stutter at Worcester last time out reminded Baxter and his players that nothing can be taken for granted as the season heads towards the finishing straight.
“In this last five to six weeks, the lads who have been here - and I include the Scotland lads who have come back in - they have really rolled their sleeves up because they kind of know we have been under a bit of pressure and know we have had to really get stuck into people. To a man, they have got on with it and they have produced some very good performances.
“The key now is to push that on further, especially with the international returnees adding to that, and not think because guys are back, we are okay because that is what will ultimately kill us! What we have to do now is push on and find new levels, I think that is in us, but it’s important particularly if we want to beat a team like Leicester.”
The Tigers have been the form team all season and having beaten the Chiefs on the opening day, they have continued to set the pace at the summit during the course of the campaign. Baxter has been impressed by what he has seen from Steve Borthwick’s side and says his own team will need to be on top of their game in this latest match-up.
“You can see they have just got comfortable with what they are doing,” added Baxter. “They have got that quality within them which is a bit scary. By that I mean, it’s once you understand that if you keep doing what you’re doing for 80 minutes, you make yourself a tough team for the opposition to beat. It’s one of the things we work hard to establish in ourselves as a team and it’s done well for us over the years.
“Other sides like Saracens, Gloucester this season, Harlequins last season, when you get everything aligned in the right places, it’s a very powerful thing. If you look at the teams who are around the top and who are challenging, winning things, they have all that about that. They drive those standards for the whole 80 minutes and that’s why they are the toughest opponents to play.”
Buoyed by the return of some of his international stars following the culmination of the Guinness Six Nations, Baxter wastes little time in drafting back the England duo of Sam Simmonds and Henry Slade to his starting line-up, while Scottish international Jonny Gray is also in from the start against the Tigers. Fellow Scots Sam Skinner and Stuart Hogg are rested this week, but could well return for next week’s home engagement with local rivals Bath Rugby.
