Rob Baxter simplifies the permutations around Exeter's game with Sarries

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter admits that he isn’t interested in permutations ahead of Saturday’s top-4 showdown with Saracens at Sandy Park. The only thing he is focusing on is getting a win.

The Chiefs will kick off the game in fourth place with 60 points, three points ahead of their visitors, who have the same number of wins, ten and would go through with a win if they finish level on points.

Baxter believes that the simplest way to take maths out of the equation and book their first semi-final appearance since 2021 is for his team to win the game, and then everything becomes academic.

“It looks like a buffer, but the reality is it’s not at all, is it? Even if we lost a close game four points to one, Saracens go ahead of us on wins. Because we’re level on wins now. So, 100 per cent, we have to make sure we don’t feel like we’ve got a buffer, because in reality, we haven’t.

“I mean, you could say a four points to two win for Saracens, but you still go through. But there aren’t many four-point to two wins where one team wins without four tries and another team gets four tries and a losing bonus point. That doesn’t happen.

Fixture

Gallagher Premiership

Exeter Chiefs

32 - 12

Full-time

Saracens

All Stats and Data

“You can say draw, and that’s the only thing we’ve given ourselves is the thing that a draw takes us through. But that’s it. So, 100 per cent, all we’re going to talk about this week is the need to win because that’s the only thing that really creates anything. Nothing else really works.

“If we’re playing to win, I suppose you’ve got that slight benefit that the draw does it. But you still don’t play to draw, do you? If we played a draw, we’ll get it well beaten. We play to win, we give ourselves a chance, and that’s very much how we’re going to talk this week,” he said.