'Missing them? I wouldn't think so' - League leaders Exeter on Premiership life without fierce rivals Saracens
Exeter boss Rob Baxter has claimed his table-topping Chiefs are not missing their rivalry this season with Saracens, the club automatically relegated to the Championship following repeated Gallagher Premiership salary cap breaches.
Saracens defeated Exeter in Premiership finals in 2016, 2018 and 2019 before they were severely punished for their off-field accountancy, paving the way for the Chiefs, who won the title in 2017, to go on and lift their second trophy with a win in the October 2020 final.
There are already four points clear at the top of the 2020/21 table following four bonus-point wins in their four matches so far. Victories such as their 33-3 demolition of Harlequins and their 40-3 hammering of last season’s semi-finalists Bath has generated concerns that Exeter could have things way too easy on the absence of Saracens.
Baxter, though, has begged to differ, explaining Saracens will not be missed as there are multiple threats elsewhere to their title defence which steps up a notch this weekend with their visit to Wasps, the team they narrowly defeated in the Twickenham final ten weeks ago.
“Missing them? I wouldn’t think so,” said Baxter when asked about Saracens, the club that are yet to play a league match since relegation as their second-tier competition won’t begin until March due to delays caused by the pandemic.
Their captain limping off at Sandy Park on Boxing Day wasn't the festive sight which Scotland fans wanted with the countdown on for playing England on February 6 https://t.co/h0SA0nkPnp
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“We look at a lot of clubs who are developing. Wasps are developing very quickly. If you look at the top end of the table we ourselves haven’t played Bristol who are towards the top end of the table, we haven’t played Sale who as we know are always a challenge.
“We have got some clubs that we haven’t yet played. We haven’t played Newcastle yet and they are having a flying start to the season. We have got some challenges from clubs that we haven’t played yet this year.
“The challenges will be thick and fast and they will be coming. I don’t think to say Saracens not being there removes the challenges. There is an awful lot of good teams in the Premiership. They have always been a challenge to us in the past and they will continue to be a challenge as there are international players scattered all through the league and on any given day the best thing about the Premiership is that teams can genuinely beat each other and that is what makes it great.
“Hopefully once the vaccines get rolled out and we get through this next two, three-month period what will reignite the Premiership is that really emotional, energetic experiences when we supporters back in.
“Until you get through the international rest period now and the Six Nations, I’m not going to say it [the table] is going to be a little bit false, but we won’t really know where we stand until we get through the Six Nations because there is going to be some comings and goings with teams.
“Any team that has a little bit of an injury issue now in one position might be a little bit hampered so at the moment it is relatively difficult to pick out any one team. Newcastle have started fantastically well, unbeaten currently. They have had a really well organised hard working pre-season.
“Dean (Richards) has got them really comfortable and confident in what they are doing. They look like a team who are really enjoying being back in the Premiership again. That makes them always a tough team to be, and as I said we are very aware that Wasps really had a transformation towards the end of last season and they really challenged us in the final.
“There is a lot of sides there who we haven’t played yet. Bristol were a real challenge last season, beat us here at Sandy Park. Our big challenge is all around us every week and what we have got to do is focus on ourselves and make sure we keep getting better because without a doubt there are other teams getting better in the Premiership.”
The latest annual @EsportifIntel comparison of rugby player salaries by position in England, France and PRO14 is out #GallagherPrem #GuinnessPRO14 #Top14
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 29, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Very unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments