Chiefs side to face Toulouse

“Yes, we ticked a few boxes last week in terms of dealing with the various bits of emotional baggage that came with that game. By that I mean, us as coaches and players were reading four or five weeks ago that Northampton had come out of lockdown not in the same form as they had entered it – and that we were bang on form and doing very well.

“That quarter-final tie had been locked in for a long time and Northampton threw absolutely everything into it physically and they broke up parts of our game at times. You have to give them full credit for what they did, but at the same time you have to give our guys a lot of credit for how they coped and overcame the challenges in the game.

“I thought the hard work we put in defence, particularly in the first half, when Northampton really came at us, was fantastic. The way we defended and the work we did around our kick-chase, Northampton had to work supremely hard to get their points and, ultimately, that created over the 80 minutes a lot of fatigue on their part. That in turn allowed us later on in the game to capitalise on that and get the tries which allowed us to stretch clear come the end.”

With the pressure of the Saints clash now banished to the history books, it’s onto tomorrow’s tussle, a fixture Baxter says will bring about new challenges for both him and his players.

“This is a last four game in Europe, so whoever is one of the four teams is going to be pretty good,” he added. “For us, though, I think this is the kind of challenge we’ve been waiting for. That’s no disrespect to anybody else, but the players came back in great physical condition from lockdown and ready to go.

“The key thing this week is that we don’t get too excited about the game too quickly,” explained Baxter. “For a game like this, you have to expend a huge amount of emotional energy, but not in the build-up. Our aim has to be to have those emotional batteries full for kick-off, then release it all from the outset.”

Standing in the way of a potential first European final, however, are four-time winners Toulouse who, like the Chiefs, have produced an unblemished record to get to this stage of the competition.

Last weekend’s 35-8 victory over Ulster showcased their attacking threat, which Baxter knows will need to be quelled from the outset tomorrow.

“It’s important not to state the obvious,” said Baxter. “Dupont is a clear threat, as is Cheslin Kolbe. They’ve also got a big midfield strike threat, the pack of forwards are big and can play a power game, so as much as you can look at their threats, the more important thing from our perspective is that we find things in the game for ourselves and look to exploit them.”

Not surprisingly, Baxter sticks with a large nucleus of last weekend’s victorious side. The sole change to the starting line-up sees Scottish international come in for Jacques Vermeulen, while on the bench Dave Dennis and Don Armand are included with Jannes Kirsten the man to make way.

Supporters will be able to cover tomorrow's game live on BT Sport, as well as BBC Radio Devon.