'We must use the hurt' - Yeandle
By Mark Stevens
31/5/18
Jack Yeandle says Exeter Chiefs must use the hurt of their Aviva Premiership final defeat to Saracens as incentive to work even harder next season.
The Chiefs surrendered their grip on English rugby’s top prize when they were undone 27-10 by the Londoners at Twickenham.
A powerful display from the two-time European champions proved too much for the Chiefs, who ahead of kick-off had finished the regular league season eight points clear of their rivals.
Although that best-ever finish was a positive for Yeandle to highlight in the aftermath of their defeat, the Exeter club captain could not hide his disappointment at the final whistle.
“It’s bitterly disappointing and it hurts all of us,” he said. “Great credit to Sarries, they did the simple things very well and we were perhaps a little bit sloppy and a little bit off our game.We made a lot of unforced errors, which isn’t really us, and a combination of all of that has cost us in the end.
“As I said, defeats are never the easiest things to take, especially when they come in a final, but we have use this hurt and transfer that into the start of next season when we start afresh again. We have got to make sure we are hungry once again and real hunt chasing down silverware.”
The majority of the Chiefs squad will report back for pre-season in late June, where once more Rob Baxter’s side will set about the task of trying to prove they are once again one of the top sides in the division.
As well as reaching the Premiership final, the Chiefs enjoyed an impressive campaign picking up the Anglo-Welsh Cup for a second time, as well as reaching the Aviva A League final.
“I’m immensely proud of all the boys for what they did,” added Yeandle. ‘Finishing top of the log is a fantastic achievement by any standards. That doesn’t just happen, it take a lot of work from a lot of people. Of course it’s gutting that we couldn’t finish it off by winning the title, but it’s on the big stage where it counts and today we weren’t quite at our best.”
Throughout the season the Chiefs have received terrific support, home and away, and Yeandle was quick to thank the fans for all of their backing.
“The support was unbelievable and a big thank-you has to go to them,” he said. “I also have to give big credit to all the non 23 in the stands. At one point they single-handedly got the whole crowd going. They are all hoarse in their now, but that shows how tight we are as a group.
“We may go at each other every day in training and work incredibly hard as a group, but we support each other to the max and they were brilliant today.”