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'I don't feel like we're in a crisis' - Chiefs name team for bounce back mission

Ollie Devoto /PA

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter has named his Exeter Chiefs side for a Gallagher Premiership bounce-back mission when they take on Gloucester this weekend.

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Exeter fell to a surprise 21 – 33 loss to London Irish last weekend at Sandy Park, the Chiefs’ second in a row in front of their home fans.

“I don’t feel like we’re in a crisis because we’ve lost one game after winning three,” said Baxter, who has named a strong side to take on Gloucester. “The drama for me a little bit is the performance, but we’ve got a few days to put that right and that’s what’s great about sport.”

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    “London Irish found momentum very easily, we didn’t find that kind of momentum and giving up momentum makes you liable to conceding penalties. A lack of accuracy on the floor when we carried meant that we were open to the odd turnover on the floor, compounded by a lack accuracy when we were clearing out. Whatever your level of performance is, it needs to be focussed on some foundational elements around how you keep the ball and how you defend, and I think that’s where I would say our core fundamental qualities weren’t there.”

    This Friday, the men from Devon take a journey up the M5 to face a Gloucester side who are undefeated in their past four outings and seem to have found a winning formula, combining a physical pack with some sparkling backs, that will be pleasing to the ‘shed’ faithful.

    “In some ways they look like they’ve gone a little bit back to Gloucester DNA, scrummaging, mauling, being solid in defence and making you pay from five metres.

    “If we don’t want to Maul, if we don’t want to be tough up front then it’s going to be a long day, because they’re getting some momentum from their pack, and they are finishing off that momentum with scores.

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    “Alongside that, they have got a couple of backs in that back division who can hurt you from anywhere, they’ve got plenty to play for, and it makes it even more of a challenge for us, but at the end of the day every game in the Premiership should be a challenge and you’ve got to enjoy that challenge.”

    “I don’t think this weekend is about experience, I think it’s about guys getting out there, running around and performing like an Exeter Chiefs team, that’s the messages they’re getting this week. I don’t really care who’s on the field, they are an Exeter Chiefs player they know how to play, and they’ve just got to go out there and show that it means a lot to them. If we do that, we’ll have taken a step forward and that’s all you can do.”

    “We’re going there with every intention to win the game, to do what we think we need to do to challenge Gloucester, the key for us to focus on is the foundational elements in our own game.”

    EXETER CHIEFS:
    15. S Hogg
    14. J Nowell
    13. T Hendrickson
    12. O Devoto
    11. F Cordero
    10. H Skinner
    9. J Maunder
    1. A Hepburn
    2. J Yeandle (C)
    3. H Williams
    4. W Witty
    5. S Lonsdale
    6. S Skinner
    7. D Armand
    8. R Capstick

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    REPLACEMENTS:
    16. O Burrows
    17. B Moon
    18. J Isofa-Scott
    19. C Tshiunza
    20. R Tuima
    21. S Hidaglo-Clyne
    22. J Simmonds
    23. I Whitten

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    J
    JW 1 hour ago
    Razor has an about turn on All Blacks eligibility rules

    Yep, another problem!


    I think he would have, in the instance I mentioned, which wasn’t changing anything other than correctly applying todays eligibility quidelines. Which is an arbitrary construct, as the deal likely would have played out completely differently, but I just ‘allowed’ him to have 1 year sabbatically for his ‘loyalty’, rather than having some arbitrary number like 70 caps required.


    So if Richie had a 3 year deal, and the first year he was allowed to use him still, I don’t think he’d really not transition to Dmac being his main 10, as he’s obviously the only one he can use for the following two years, therefore likely his only real option for the WC (very hard for Richie to overtake him in such a short time). Richie would purely be a security net in a situation like I proposition where there are only small changes to the eligibility.


    The system is not working well enough though, as we don’t have the Rugby Championship or World Cup trophies, do we? Well on that last question, that’s all I’m really saying but I would not believe a word this author says, so it’s entirely a ‘what if’ discussion, but if the author is right and now they are actually going to be more flexible, I think that’s great yeah. Ultimately thought I think those two players were an anomaly signing their contracts and futures up so far ahead, especially of when they were performing. Both jumped at the opportunity of good contracts when their All Black prospects weren’t looking that bright.

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