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Rob Baxter lauds 'exceptional' England duo after vital win
Exeter boss Rob Baxter hailed the contributions of England internationals Henry Slade and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso after Chiefs kept their play-off hopes alive by beating Gloucester.
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Centre Slade scored 13 points in a 38-17 Gallagher Premiership victory at Kingsholm, while wing Feyi-Waboso scored one of Exeter’s five tries.
“They are good players, and when we give them a platform to be able to work from they show how exceptional they are,” Baxter said.
“When you get the ball up and moving and a defence shifting, someone like Manny is going to be lethal. He is a talent isn’t he? And we have got more to come in this back-line as well.”
Slade recovered from his surprise England World Cup squad omission earlier this season by starring for Exeter and working his way back on to the Test match arena in the Guinness Six Nations.
And Baxter added of the 31-year-old: “He was annoyed and frustrated by it (World Cup omission), but I think he has moved beyond that and he is looking around and enjoying playing with these guys, which is bringing the best out of him.
“The way he talks to the lads is brilliant.
“It is not like he is some sort of father figure saying ‘you need to do this’. He is in the middle of the group saying ‘we are going to front up today and we are going to get in their faces’.
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“He is not trying to be the wise old owl, he is right in the thick of it with the lads, and that is what we want from him.”
Match Summary 
0
Penalty Goals
1
3
Tries
5
1
Conversions
5
0
Drop Goals
0
109
Carries
129
11
Line Breaks
9
20
Turnovers Lost
22
8
Turnovers Won
9
Exeter still have it all to do in terms of the play-offs, lying four points adrift of the top four with only two regular season games left.
But they kept themselves in the mix ahead of remaining fixtures against Harlequins and Leicester through a bonus-point success.
Slade’s creative midfield presence caused Gloucester problems all afternoon, while he also kicked a penalty and converted all five of Exeter’s tries from flanker Jacques Vermeulen (two), full-back Dan John, Olly Woodburn and Feyi-Waboso.
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Ninth-placed Gloucester undoubtedly had an eye on next weekend’s European Challenge Cup semi-final appointment with Benetton, and they never seriously threatened Exeter despite tries by wing Jonny May, flanker Jack Clement and lock Arthur Clark, while fly-half Charlie Atkinson added one conversion.
Gloucester rugby director George Skivington said: “I don’t think we were quite there today, and we said there was a risk of what we have got next weekend creeping into our mindset.
“I haven’t lied, I have got half an eye on that. And that was evident in the first half.
“Exeter were definitely up for it today, fighting for their lives, and that was the difference. They beat us for intensity, and that is the most disappointing thing.
“I am not happy with the Premiership this season, and there is a good summer for us to go and have a look at our game.
“We want to be better in the Premiership, and I definitely won’t be happy with the league this season.
“It has been a season of highs and lows. It’s a balance. You win some silverware (Gloucester won the Premiership Cup), but you don’t do so well in the Premiership, which is disappointing.
“I am very disappointed with today. I am not going to pretend I am not.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Great piece Nick, plenty to chew on. Loved this ‘biases’ line from Geoff, shows he is a thinker - “If you asked me for a shortlist of coaches who appealed to my biases, he would be on it.” I think Schmidt is towing a similar line to Rennie in regards to OS players, he is publicly saying he prefers local talent, but almost certainly will be fighting to have the likes of skelton in the team. Interesting to hear the backroom on the rebels and what a cockup that is, just when you think RA admin has hit rock bottom it digs deeper. Other bit that caught my eye was his skills focus on things like passing from 7s at the base of the lineout, great little details. but also scary that a SR level 8 didn’t know how to operate within a lineout - telling!
20 Go to commentsThoroughly enjoyed this thanks Nick. ‘The lineout starts on the ground…’ wish I’d thought of that line when discussing Will’s place in the Wallabies.
20 Go to commentsShannon Frizell’s second year is optional is how I heard it. Given nothing has been confirmed yet it gets more and more likely he signs to return next year. Cant wait to see Finau doing more work on Internal players.
29 Go to commentsBlindside flankers should be hard hitting defenders, good lineout jumper with height, and a hard worker who hits and cleans rucks. If he can be a destructive ball carrier it’s a bonus but not a necessity. Samipeni Fineau and Cullen Grace are excellent at those core skills and my choice at blindside. Brad Shields is dismissed because he is 33 but not sure why that should be a consideration for this season. Shields too does these core roles well. Just don’t pick an 8 and shift him to 6 like the wingers on The Breakdown suggest, as if 6 and 8 are interchangeable. They are not. An 8 is first and foremost a dynamic ball carrier, not necessarily a destructive defender as a 6 should be. Devon Flanders and Akira Ioane are #8 s forced to play blindside because their teams have better options at 8 than them. Do not pick them at blindside
29 Go to commentsSaints obviously didn’t get the memo, or needed an ego boost?
1 Go to commentsReturning to the Chiefs would be another good change that could only put him into a better position to succeed in black
6 Go to commentsSimply outrageous and demonstrably false to say Finau’s tackle on Lynagh was “2 seconds late” In reality it was probably 0.5 seconds after he passed the ball. If you carry the ball at speed to within 5m of the defensive line you can expect to get tackled. Finau could have pulled out of it and not absolutely flattened him for sure, but there was going to be contact either way. He seems like a high risk selection at the moment, but there is no one else like him in NZ at the moment. His big tackles make the highlight reels but he is also a great athlete, very fast for such a big man, spent most of his days at lock so also very strong in the line out.
29 Go to commentsYes, Finau looks like the best option. Blackadder is not big enough for an international 6 - he should join the queue at 7. Frizzell had the power and heft and line-out height to play lock, so maybe that is where the ABs should be looking, not at a 7 who’s not big enough for 6, but at a lock who might have the agility to play 6, like Scott Barrett, or… Natai Ah Kuoi, who absolutely fits that bill, but seldom gets to play 6 because the Chiefs have so many loosies.
29 Go to commentsPaul Quinn was a National MP.
6 Go to commentsNo need to worry about losers’ mentality hysteria from Australia. Finau has all the attributes, I don't recall a high or no arms tackle from him, and his timing has been controlled very well since the round 3 Lynagh tackle. It's an easy decision for Razor, the only question is who should back him up from the bench. He can't be overworked like Squire was in his first full season.
29 Go to comments“Reds coach Les Kiss saying later: “I think every player has the right to feel safe.” Maybe Rugby is the wrong sport for people who want to feel safe..?
29 Go to commentsNot sure what the context was, but the highlights showed one scrum against Aussie where the baby Blacks were going backwards at a pace. The pack has been the issue since 2017, so they might be in for another reality check soon. This tournament should really have been two rounds, would have learned a lot more.
1 Go to commentsPeter Lakai has a ‘lot of size’? Since when? To Kirifi maybe. I think Laidlaw clearly saw he’s too small for 6 or 8, so plonked him at 7. Has potential to be Ardies understudy in black for 7.
6 Go to commentsDalton for skipper?
16 Go to commentsOh he's ‘Irish qualified’ isn't that convenient. If Ireland get any more Kiwis (and Aussie) in their backline they might need to run out in green and black kit soon. How is the supposed best rugby system in the world in need of trawling for journeyman Kiwi players?
2 Go to commentsCallum Grace is playing well now that he's finally back in his best position. But given it was Razor who somehow thought Grace was dynamic enough to be a No8 when he's clearly not, Im not sure he’d backtrack on that. Finau is risky with his style, and there's almost no point picking Blackadder when he can’t stay on the field more than five minutes.
29 Go to commentsThe team on paper has more supposed ‘stars’ than a lot of the sides they’re losing to. They’ve got the Razor-blues and aren't playing for Penney. He should jump before he's pushed.
1 Go to commentsProof. That if you lay dramatic instrumental hip hop music over a video of a skinny pale white kid running an unopposed zig zag on a training ground filled with rookies - it’ll look next-level epic!
13 Go to commentsIf they win the challenge Cup then it will have all been worth it. If they don’t, then maybe he should go. Lots of ppl seem to think very highly of him as a coach, but maybe he would be better working under someone. Any top sides looking for forwards coaches rn?
1 Go to commentsJason Ryan knows his craft as forwards coach and I'm sure he’ll hold sway with Scott Robertson of who he feels worthy of selection…his credentials validated when he put a 7xcaps between them front row...Ethan, Samisoni and Lomax on Ellis Park…Go the AB's…
29 Go to comments