Chiefs side to face Leinster

By Mark Stevens

Rob Baxter says Exeter's qualification into the Heineken Cup for the first time in the club's history was just reward for what was an outstanding campaign for the Chiefs last season.

A fifth place finish in only their second year in the Aviva Premiership ensured the Devon club would be participating on the biggest club stage in the Northern Hemisphere, tackling the cream of European Rugby in at least six competitive fixtures.

Tomorrow, the Exeter Chiefs adventure begins in earnest with a trip across the Irish Sea to face the competition's reigning champions, Leinster, who themselves are kicking off their own quest to try and win a third successive crown.

Pitted not only against the impressive Irishmen, the Chiefs will also have to contend with the French superstars from Clermont Auvergne, as well as top Welsh region Scarlets in a daunting Pool 5.

But as Baxter readied his troops for their maiden battle in Dublin, the Chiefs head coach was quick to speak of the hunger for success that exists within his squad.

"It's going to be fantastic," he said. "We have always talked from the moment we got in the Premiership that every experience we had, we would try and hit it full on. For us, this is just the next step. Of course I'm expecting it [the group] to be very tough, but I hope it is.  I hope the intensity is very high because ultimately we are only going to improve as individuals and as a team by experiencing tough things.

"I know talking here now that sounds a bit strange, but I don't think there is any point being in any competition where you think you are going to struggle. For a lot of the squad, it's going to be a new experience, which I hope will make us a better team. I want us in three or four weeks' time, when we've come through these first two games against Leinster and Clermont to look at one another and say 'I think I'm a better player or a better coach having had these experiences'."

With Leinster odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to kick-off their campaign with victory over the visiting Chiefs, Baxter insists there is very little pressure being placed on his side - other than that which is generated from inside their own camp,

He added: "In all honesty there is not a huge amount of pressure on us, other than the fact we want to show people that we are a good side and that we deserve to be in the Heineken Cup. We worked very hard last year to get that fifth spot and I think people need to appreciate that the Premiership is a tough competition and that this is a great reward for how hard our boys worked.

"It's a reward, however, we have to try and take with two hands and make sure we don't let it pass us by."

The Chiefs head into this weekend's tussle buoyed by an excellent 42-28 home win over defending Premiership champions Harlequins, whilst Leinster themselves were on song last time out as they overcame arch rivals Munster 30-21 at the Aviva Stadium.

It was a win that clearly delighted Baxter, who has seen his side win all three games on their own turf this season, but suffer three losses in as many starts on the road.

"The truth is we have shown some inconsistency over these first six weeks," he continued. "We started the season very well [against Sale] and then we were a little bit up and down for different reasons. We've had some good performances and we've had some performances that we weren't massively pleased with. That said, we are kind of ticking along very well and I think the Harlequins performance showed that we are moving forward and that we are learning from those first five games.

"That, from a coaching perspective, is what we have to do - you have to take the lessons you've learnt from those games and now take them into the Leinster game and experience what we can in it. Personally, I am not overly concerned with what will happen at the end of the game in terms of the scoreline that will look after itself. The Harlequins game was proof of that, the score looked after itself.

"It didn't just happen because we said beforehand that we were going to go out and score five tries in this game. Instead we focused on the things we thought would work and we stuck at them pretty rigidly. This weekend we will approach Leinster in exactly the same way because we think we know how we want to attack them and we know how we need to defend.
The key thing, however, is making sure we do those things for a long period of the game if we want to get anything out of it."

Not surprisingly Baxter sticks with virtually the same side that saw off Harlequins at Sandy Park. The two changes come in the pack where Irishman and skipper Tom Hayes returns in place of Dean Mumm (pictured), whilst James Scaysbrook is also back at openside flanker in place of the injured Ben White.

On the bench, Chris Whitehead - another who missed out last week - returns at the expense of Neil Clark; whilst Aussie international Dean Mumm remains within the squad as an option both in the second and back-row.

EXETER CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE LEINSTER

15 Luke Arscott
14 Ian Whitten
13 Phil Dollman
12 Jason Shoemark
11 Matt Jess
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Simon Alcott
3 Carl Rimmer
4 Tom Hayes (capt)
5 James Hanks
6 Tom Johnson
7 James Scaysbrook
8 Richard Baxter

16 Chris Whitehead
17 Ben Moon
18 Chris Budgen
19 Aly Muldowney
20 Dean Mumm
21 Will Chudley
22 Ignacio Mieres
23 Sireli Naqelevuki