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Rob Baxter: The toxic cycle Exeter Chiefs must break as they face top dogs
By Neil Fissler
Rob Baxter has urged his Exeter Chiefs to show bravery in both attack and defence when Premiership leaders and West Country rivals Bath visit Sandy Park on Saturday afternoon.
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Bath have amassed 487 points this season, the most in the Premiership, while conceding a league-low 287. They travel to Devon ten points clear of second-placed Bristol Bears.
The Chiefs have extra motivation after Bath ended their 17-year wait for silverware with a 48-14 victory over Exeter in the Premiership Rugby Cup final at Sandy Park just over a month ago, running in 31 unanswered second-half points.
“We slipped away badly in that final against a mix-and-match Bath side; we have to change that narrative,” Baxter said. “We also have to make it clear that we are playing with ambition, pace, drive and bravery – we have to go on to the field knowing we need to score points.”
“Obviously we want to defend as well as we can, but Bath are scoring 40 or 50 points almost every week, and we are not going to win if we only score ten.”
“Even if we defend heroically there will still be points in the game, so we need to be brave in both defence and attack.”
“The key message is: let’s attack the game, rather than sit in our shells waiting to see what Bath do.”
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Exeter are second from bottom after edging Newcastle last time out, and Baxter wants his players to rediscover the enjoyment of winning.
“Newcastle was an emotional battle for us – you could see the pure relief in the lads,” he added. “Really, we should be enjoying winning Premiership matches.”
“Beating Bath, who are at the right end of the table, would be a great experience for us. I want to see us grow and relish taking the field.”
“Breaking the cycle of feeling relief just for picking up points is going to be vital for the rest of this season and, in particular, the start of the next.”
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