'They wouldn't have been different to comments made by other clubs, it's just that our comments carried more weight'
Exeter boss Rob Baxter admits animosity exists between the Chiefs and Saracens as the pair prepare to go head-to-head again at Allianz Park. The two clubs have been England’s dominant teams in recent seasons, meeting each other in three of the last four Gallagher Premiership finals.
There is no chance of that happening this year with Saracens relegated following persistent salary cap breaches.
But Exeter have been outspoken in their criticism of Saracens’ salary misdemeanours and that is bound to raise the temperature in north London despite the large gap between them in the table.
“There’s obviously animosity, largely because myself or Tony Rowe (chairman and chief executive) have been happy to make media comments about what we felt about the salary cap,” Chiefs director of rugby Baxter said.
“But they wouldn’t have been different to comments made by any other club, it’s just that our comments carried more weight because we’ve played in finals against them.
“There hasn’t been any love lost between us for seasons. We’ve both been operating at the top end of the Premiership for the last three or four years and the reality is that when you meet in the semi-finals or finals, you battle away in those games.”
With Exeter’s place in the end-of-season play-offs already confirmed, the main focus is on the battle for a top four spot behind.
Second-placed Sale, for whom England centre Manu Tuilagi makes his 100th Premiership appearance, host Bath, who are four points adrift of them in fifth.
“There are still 10 points to play for after this weekend,” said Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper.
“But I do feel pressure from the players and the rest of the staff that we can deliver a program that allows us to go there and give it our best shot.”
Third meets fourth as Bristol travel to Wasps with just two points separating the sides.
Bristol have made 12 changes following their midweek win against Northampton and Bears director of rugby Pat Lam admits continuity in selection is impossible given the congested fixture schedule.
“These boys aren’t robots,” Lam said. “How they entertain everybody with what they do on the field is fantastic, but it takes a big physical load.
“The demands only become too much if you play the same XV every week, which is what people want to see.”
Leicester welcome Northampton to Welford Road with the two Midlands rivals out of sorts.
Both sides have managed just one win apiece since rugby resumed last month.
London Irish are seeking a first post-lockdown victory at home to Worcester, without a win in three.
Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney said: “Worcester are hot on our tails in the league table and a result for them would see them jump above us.
“They will be travelling with that knowledge, so I expect the contest to be a highly competitive one.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The same might be happening in NZ soon. What is the point of changing the setup to englands Championship?
3 Go to commentsSack the coach.
4 Go to commentsDon’t worry about the Crusaders they have some great talent coming through.
1 Go to commentsThe Crusaders terminally ill team missing 8-9 projected starters at the beginning of the season manhandle a Chiefs team missing just DMac.
54 Go to commentsBig difference from the Crusaders last night. Hotham and McNicoll were sparks but everyone seemed dialed in. Young lock Hannah has no stop and Kellow deserves more game time based on his performance. Being captain seemed to lift Christie’s game and with Strange running the lineout there was a big improvement from Bell (including his brilliant individual try). Good to see Reihana running freely and making a solid contribution from the bench. In the absence of Burke, he makes that backline more potent. Also, good to see Aumua with more of a role. If they can back this up, they could move up the table as some of their “names” return (Barrett, Blackadder, Burke, Taylor, Williams, etc).
10 Go to commentsI think this is unduly harsh. I agree that we must hold them to high standards and that is what they produced in the second half against Italy with 14 men in their first run out for nearly 6 months trying to play an expanded game. Admittedly, the first half was at best disjointed but they worked it out sufficiently to blow Italy out of the water. No other team appears to be able to live with them over 80 minutes at the moment and they still have a huge amount of improvement to make. Their match in France will be the next acid test. That is the next real yardstick.
1 Go to commentsNot sure 700k is worth it. He’ll be coming on for the Hail Mary plays. Cannon fodder.
10 Go to commentsBest situation in the world for the potential of his success in the NFL. Cutthroat, we’ll yeah little buddy, that’s one of the reasons why, at least in the States, it is by far and away the best sports draw. The point is: It’s not only that he’d have Mahomes as his QB, and all the T. Kelce blocking bullshit needs to stop (he’s not a prototypical blocking TE ya numb nuts), it’s that he will have arguably one of the greatest football minds in Andy Reid scheming for him. In the NFL, the most important thing is situation. If the ignoramus Jets signed him, then he’d be screwed from go.
10 Go to commentsWe’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
3 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
10 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
4 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
4 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
4 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
54 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
10 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
54 Go to comments