'On match days, Rob necessarily won't be with the team'
Exeter head coach Ali Hepher has explained that long-serving director of rugby Rob Baxter will have a less hands-on role with the Chiefs in 2022/23, even travelling separately from the team to matches. The reshuffle marks quite a change in the Sandy Park set-up. Ever since taking charge in May 2009, Baxter has been the recognisable face of the Exeter transformation from Championship nobodies to 2020’s Gallagher Premiership and Heineken Champions Cup double champions.
However, the 51-year-old Baxter has now decided to take a step back into the shadows and to Hepher and his assistants to take more command of the business of Exeter getting results on a weekend. Last term represented something of a fall from grace for the Chiefs given their extraordinarily high standards of recent years. They failed to reach the Premiership playoffs for the first time since 2015 while they were also ousted in Europe at the round of 16 stage.
It was the type of average campaign that Baxter claimed numerous English rivals would be satisfied with but not Exeter, whose rethink began with the late April exit of defence coach Julian Salvi.
Omar Mouneimne has since been recruited from Bristol and Baxter has now allowed his Exeter staff the additional wriggle room to call more of the shots. “On match days, Rob necessarily won’t be with the team so I’ll be leading that side of things,” explained Hepher. “He will be travelling separately.
“He will be at all the games, he will be very much involved with everything we do but he won’t be travelling with the team so pre-match, matchday post-match I will be dealing with it… I think he will still do the media side of stuff through the week but on match days, it will be down to myself and the other coaches. Yeah, a bit of a change in the role but something exciting to get on with.”
Tell us more. “We still sit across the desk and we are talking through everything. He is very aware of everything that is going on all the time. It’s a very simple relationship in the sense that we both work incredibly hard, we are both comfortable sharing our opinions and we will work through the best way to solve problems and get to the solution that we want. That very much hasn’t changed.
“Rob Hunter is in that mix as well and Omar coming in has been brilliant and added some coaching quality there. As a coaching group, we have got Ricki (Pellow), Gareth (Steenson), Haydn Thomas and Gareth Elliott all chipping in. We are a strong coaching group and we all have our opinions and we all very much listen to everyone. The main decisions still land with Rob but on match day, the main decisions within the game will probably land at my door.”
What has been the impact so far in the build-up to Saturday’s Premiership opener at home to Leicester? “We certainly know with bringing Omar in it brings a different eye to things and you can benefit from that, but we have all been pretty successful at the things we have done and also we are not just a stagnant coaching team, we are always looking to improve and improve our game.
“Our game has moved on all the way through, it doesn’t need a coaching change to change a game and move things on that front. But having a different eye on it and a different opinion when we talk through certain situations brings in different energy to the group and it has certainly been beneficial.
“We were pleased with how we coached this pre-season. We worked really well and had a really good pre-season compared to previous years. The guys are in a much better mind space as a result of that, but we have got to see where we are at and we get the first test this weekend.”
Having had the chance to conduct a lengthy post-mortem, what were the takeaways for Hepher from a rare Baxter campaign where Exeter didn’t convince that they were genuine trophy contenders at any stage? “Last season we had incredible injuries. Against Wasps, our bench covering the back row was a hooker and a prop.
“The injury list was phenomenal. I don’t think I have ever been involved in a squad that has been that close to the line. I know others have been involved in that situation – it isn’t unique to us. And look, probably at the beginning of last season when we were all trying to push for that top two we were fielding 18-, 19-year-olds on the field in the pack. That became a tough situation.
“We lost games on the back of that, fielding new guys, and sometimes those guys need to go through that experience and come out the other side and they have done already. They are much further on than the bunch of guys that played a lot of games at the start of last season. They have had a full season under their belt in various different capacities.
“Look, we are in a better place on that front and the challenge is on the mindset side of it as well. When you have achieved a double, as those (older) guys did, they might have aspired to win a Champions Cup but they probably never thought of winning a double and they managed to nail it down.
“That creates a ‘Where do you go from there?’ in some people’s minds. Some players were let’s go straight back and do it and they were on it and then that is easy but others had fought really hard to get to that level and then it becomes tough to get back to that because they know the hard work that went into it.
“It’s then the challenge of resetting and making sure that their mindsets are right on top of what we want to do. On the coaching side of things, we have changed things slightly and it hopefully puts us in better stead, and also within ourselves we have very much looked at how we operate the attack side of things.
“It was the perfect time to make a change because we had a little longer pre-season than we have done in the past. The consecutive years of short pre-seasons going into new seasons eventually do take a bit of a knock and it all adds up. We have always been a tight squad and players are encouraged to be best mates but that takes time with each other and on the back of covid, you had to stop a lot of that spending good time with each other.
“We have been able to reset that a bit this summer, so we have spent a lot of time with each other and have bonded a lot better. The boys have enjoyed the pre-season. I’m pretty sure it’s a much happier camp because we have been able to do that side of things as well as work incredibly hard.
“We put them through some hard stuff and they have responded incredibly well. There are lots of little bits there that we have worked on and, as a package, we are in a better place overall.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Pot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
4 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
19 Go to commentsCouldnt agree more. SA sides need to show more committment and really have a go at the Champions Cup. Its quite possibly the most prestigious title in Europe and SA sides need to respect that prestige and serve up their best. EPCR needs to do more to ensure that sides from South Africa and sides travelling to and from SA have a better chance in this competition. The Bulls were put in a really difficult position of having to travel there and back in one week. One could argue that this is what the SA sides signed up for and that La Rochelle didnt complain or send out weakened sides despite having to travel to SA and back and play on successive weekends but surely the situation is also unfair on La Rochelle as well and so EPCR needs to think about successive gameweeks and the travel effect of the competition
19 Go to comments