Dollman demands high standards

By Mark Stevens
14/2/17

Phil Dollman insists Exeter Chiefs can ill afford to let their standards slip in their quest to remain in the top four of this season’s Aviva Premiership.

The Devon club moved back into third spot following Sunday’s 35-35 draw with leaders Wasps at Sandy Park - and now they will be looking to maintain their place amongst the division’s frontrunners when they head for lowly Worcester Warriors this Saturday (3pm).

In what should be another testing encounter for Rob Baxter’s side at Sixways, Dollman knows the Midlanders will be a tough nut to crack, particularly with their confidence sky high after they knocked over reigning champions Saracens on their own turf last time out.

“We end up saying it every year, but there really are no easy games in the Premiership,” said the Welshman. “We know Worcester at home are a good side and they’ve caused us plenty of problems in the past. If we go up there and we’re not 100 per cent in everything we do, then we’re not going to get a result.”

With precious league points on offer for both sides - at either of the standings - the Chiefs will be hoping to maintain their impressive record against the Midlanders, who have failed to beat their rivals in nine previous top flight encounters.

“We’ve been performing well in recent weeks and we’ve just got to keep it going,” added Dollman. “We’ve played the top four sides in the last four games and we’ve not lost to any of them. We’ve had two wins and two draws, but it could easily have been four wins for us.

“All the time we’re striving to be that team that does win those four games, so we have to keep working hard and doing the right things.”

Certainly the Chiefs will look back at last weekend’s stalemate with Wasps as a potential missed opportunity for a notable victory. But equally, having had to play much of the second half with 14 men following the dismissal of Jonny Hill for a high tackle on Ashley Johnson, the three-point return could yet prove a valuable outcome in the grand scheme of things.

“Maybe it was a missed opportunity,” admitted Dollman. “We spoke about it in the changing rooms afterwards that had we played things a little differently, especially in the second half, we may have got the win in the end. At times, though, we weren’t accurate enough and if you do that against a side like Wasps, they will punish you and they did that with there tries.

“That said, we were good at times ourselves, especially in the first half. When we got it right, we made our way up the pitch and we scored points against a stiff breeze. Again we looked good at times in the second half, but ultimately we let a few decisions slip and they capitalised.

“I’m sure lessons will be learnt moving forward, but the good thing was that we didn’t break and we kept going. That, I guess, is what Exeter is all about. At times we had our backs against the wall, but we stuck together and we went hard at the game.

“Maybe it was a tough call on Jonny and I’ve seen a thousand of those type tackles over the years, but with the new rules you just have to take it. I’m sure we’ll learn from the whole experience and in the long run it will make us even stronger, hopefully starting this weekend against Worcester.”