'That's kind of what bothers me, and it's probably what bothers the players now'
Ahead of their Gallagher Premiership showdown with Harlequins this weekend, Exeter Chiefs’ Director of Rugby Rob Baxter has opened up about what bothered him most about their loss to the Londoners in last year’s final.
It’s the first meeting of the two clubs since last June’s finale, which Quins edged 40 – 38. Exeter currently sit fifth on the ladder and know a win over the reigning champions would help springboard their campaign and get 2022 off to the perfect start.
Yet for Baxter, there’s clearly still plenty about last year’s defeat in Twickenham that irks.
“Harlequins deserved to win the final, I’ve no problem with that,” said Baxter. “The frustration I have is that we probably put ourselves in a position where, those final weeks of the season, we didn’t really accelerate into those games. Our performance against Northampton and Sale were funny, it was like we were trying to manage our way into the semi-final.
“We won those games, but not with what you’d call a real authority in our game. The semi-final against Sale was better, but then we almost drew breath again and never got our foot down again. We never went for the Harlequins jugular and that’s kind of what bothers me – and it’s probably what bothers the players now.
“I can take wins and losses all the time, but you tend to win the games in which you deserve to win. We didn’t deserve to win the final. It was not the loss as such which hurt, it was more our performance on the day.”
Baxter admits he’s a fan of Harlequins’ swashbuckling, attacking approach to the game.
“Looking at Quins this season, they seem just as good now as they were that day. They are clearly very comfortable with how they are playing and they look like a side who are enjoying their rugby. Personally, I like watching them play, but I also realise the threat they bring, so it’s up to us as a squad to make sure we bring more of the key elements to the game this weekend than they do.
“A bit like we said ahead of Bristol, we have to challenge ourselves in a way that brings the best out of us. Our key focus must be on what we want to get from the game and how we want to play.”
Baxter cites a lack of player availability at the start of the season with their somewhat sluggish season to date and says he’s content with where the club finds itself.
“I’m kind of okay with where we are,” said Baxter. “We always knew the start was going to be a challenge, particularly with the injuries we had in the back five of the scrum, plus the unavailability of the guys who had been away with the Lions.
"I ate so much food in December that I ended up feeling like a very large section of gone-off stilton cheese with eyeballs."@davidflatman has a few things to get off his muscular *52-in chest as he hits 2022 hard…
*educated guesshttps://t.co/3GotNbZGgl
— The XV Rugby (@TheXV) January 7, 2022
“It meant things were slightly broken up, but that’s happened, we’ve just got on with things. The things that make it look less comfortable are those two narrow home losses to Northampton and Newcastle. Flip those results the other way round and we’d be looking quite comfortable for a team who went through all that unavailability.
“People would then be looking at Exeter and thinking about the strength of our squad and how well we have done to get through that period without some key people.
“As I said, we’re okay with where we are, but I know there is more to come from us. We’re not at peak performance by any means, but we will get that in the future. The challenge for us is that other teams are also performing well and league is very tight. The table changes every week with sides going up and down, we just have to make sure we are the side that is going up.”
“We want to be in the top four challenging, so the pressure is on us to perform,” added Baxter. “Last week was pleasing and was another step in the right direction for us. In a lot of ways it was more about the performance than the result which I liked the most.
“There was a real sense amongst the supporters and the players – and you could see it in the training week leading into it – that we found a bit of our mojo and a bit of alignment. There was an extra energy, an extra drive, which all came through in the performance.
“Now, we have to take all of those ingredients and put them together again for this weekend against what will be a very good Harlequins side. We know going up there will be tough, but that’s kind of what you expect every week in the Premiership. There should be no easy games and you should expect to be challenged.”
EXETER CHIEFS
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Jack Nowell
13 Henry Slade
12 Ian Whitten
11 Facundo Cordero
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Jack Maunder
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Josh Iosefa-Scott
4 Jonny Gray
5 Jonny Hill
6 Dave Ewers
7 Jannes Kirsten
8 Sam Simmonds
REPLACEMENTS:
16 Jack Innard
17 Ben Moon
18 Patrick Schickerling
19 Sam Skinner
20 Don Armand
21 Sam Maunder
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Tom Hendrickson
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments