Chiefs team to face Leinster
By Mark Stevens
15/12/17
It's not often that Exeter Chiefs suffer defeat on their own patch, but last Sunday they suffered that very fate when Leinster triumphed 18-8 in this season's European Champions Cup.
The Irish visitors became the first side in a year to storm fortress Sandy Park, claiming a vital victory that has put them firmly in charge of Pool 3 after three rounds of battle.
Tomorrow, the two sides will meet again - this time in the vast expanse of the Aviva Stadium - in the second part of the annual December double-header.
Chiefs' Director of Rugby Rob Baxter knows the importance of the clash, particularly if he wants his side challenging for qualification in the New Year. However, he also wants to see a step up in intensity from his players, something he felt was somewhat missing last weekend.
"We have to play better, it's as simple as that," said Baxter. You can dress things up in all kinds of way, but at the end of the day we didn't play well enough to win the game. Not only did we make a number of unforced errors - these can happen in a pressure game like last week - but when we looked at the game in detail, there were quite a lot of areas where we a little bit disjointed, a little bit unfocused, and in a tight game like it was, that can be the difference.
"At the same time, there is no way you can leave Leinster out of the equation because they were hugely in it. The way they played and the qualities they showed were part of the reason we found ourselves under pressure and making mistakes. That said, we shouldn't have made some of the errors we did. At times we were probably uncharacteristically lacking in what I would call that 'go and win the game' type of edge. It was there in patches, but it wasn't there enough."
Building on the positives has been high on the agenda for Baxter and his fellow coaches this week, but so too has been the need to rectify certain aspects of concern last weekend and the continual drive to take the Chiefs onto another level.
"I know this sounds strange, especially when we are a team who have been in two Premiership finals in the past two seasons, but actually when it comes to these big European games, there are still elements that we have to learn because it is much different to a Premiership game," added Baxter.
"Although our game plan stood up very well on the day, our individual commitment to certain areas wasn't at the level it needs to be to ram home a victory. We've talked about it this week, but it's not an easy fix because we are playing against a good side with good players. We know it will take a lot to win over at Leinster, but it's not something we are not capable of. We are a good side, with good individuals, and we think we can do a job.
"As we often say, the biggest reason we drive as hard as we do in the Premiership is to be in the Champions Cup or the old Heineken Cup as it was. These are the big where you not only learn the most, but also learn the quickest. We are not going to be a worse side for playing Leinster here in front of a sell-out crowd - and we're not going to be a worse side for going over to Ireland and playing in front of a big crowd at the Aviva.
"I know we will be a better side afterwards, but the important thing is we make sure we are a ide who can be as good as they be and take everything they can out of every game they play in.
"I don't mind losing at all. We have lost to good sides in the past, we've lost to poor sides as well. What we have to be able to do is move forward as quickly as we can after any game and that's the aim this weekend. As I said, some of the individual contributions from last week weren't high enough for us to walk away and be satisfied, so we're looking for a big response from the guys this weekend."
A rib injury means Phil Dollman misses out this weekend, so Aussie international Lachie Turner is recalled to first team duty at full-back. The other change to the Chiefs backline sees England international Jack Nowell come in on the wing for James Short, who drops to the bench.
Up front, Ben Moon and Tomas Francis will pack down in the front-row alongside Luke Cowan-Dickie, while behind Sam Skinner is given the nod at lock ahead of Jonny Hill, while Sam Simmonds will don the No.8 jersey with Thomas Waldrom named amongst the replacements.
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE LEINSTER
15 Lachie Turner
14 Jack Nowell
13 Henry Slade
12 Ian Whitten
11 Olly Woodburn
10 Gareth Steenson (capt)
9 Nic White
1 Ben Moon
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Tomas Francis
4 Mitch Lees
5 Sam Skinner
6 Don Armand
7 Matt Kvesic
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Jack Yeandle
17 Alec Hepburn
18 Harry Williams
19 Jonny Hill
20 Thomas Waldrom
21 Will Chudley
22 Sam Hill
23 James Short