'I think in a lot of ways it was destined to end like this': Rob Baxter

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter believes that it was written in the stars that their final home game of the season would be a winner-takes-all clash against Saracens for the final place in the end-of-season play-offs.

The Chiefs are bidding for a top four finish for the first time in five years against the team that, between 2016 and 2019, beat them in three Premiership finals out of four to kick start an unlikely rivalry.

The Chiefs, who inflicted a first home defeat for Leicester Tigers since March 2025 on Sunday, leapt back into fourth place in the Prem table, three points clear of fifth-placed Saracens, who will wave goodbye to boss Mark McCall at the end of the season.

And Baxter told TNT Sport after the win at Welford Road that these must-win games are ideal preparation for his side if they want to return to their trophy-winning glory days from the last decade.

“I think in a lot of ways it was destined to end like this. Three or four weeks ago. I said to a few people, I just cannot see any way we are going to get to the Saracens game, and it’s not going to be a big game for both of us.

“And that’s how it’s ended. It’s probably great for rugby, and it’s good for us because it concentrates our minds. You know, if we get to a semi-final, it’s going to be away. Do we want to be involved in big games and getting prepared for it.“Or do we want dead rubbers?

“For me, having to come to Welford Road and having to get points, playing next week and having to win, I think that’s the best prep for us if we are going to have any chance in a semi-final or final.

“Because we are going to have to do something like we have done today: come away to a team that’s unlikely to lose, that’s what the stats say. And we have got to do something special,” he said.