Chiefs side to face Saracens

 

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter is confident he will see a reaction from his squad when they return to Aviva Premiership action at Saracens tomorrow (3pm).

Undone 22-16 in their last top flight outing by lowly Sale Sharks, Baxter and his Chiefs used the early part of this week to conduct a detailed debrief into their showing in Salford.

Frustrated by certain events last week, Baxter says some honest assessment within the Chiefs group has proved fruitful ahead of the Devon club's first-ever visit to the new, state-of-the-art Allianz Park.

"Looking at last week's game, yes we were disappointed, but I think we were frustrated more than anything else," said the Exeter coach. "Those feelings come more from the fact that we just lost our way a little bit.
What happened was not through a lack of trying, or a lack of physicality, endeavour and effort, it was more a lack of composure from ourselves and individuals trying too hard to turn the game that for a long time wasn't going away from us

"We made some fundamentals mistakes, we gave up some silly penalties, and all of a sudden the momentum of the game changed. That's for us to deal with moving forward, but having had an honest and open assessment this week, I'm confident that none of the issues were from anything more than guys wanting to do well.

"As I said, we have to be mature, face up to things and talk them through. Sometimes these things happen in games, but what we have to make sure is we learn from these experiences and that we become a better team for it."

Although undone in the second half by the Sharks, Baxter said the review did also show up plenty of positives and that is what his squad will use as a springboard ahead of this latest Premiership match-up.

The Exeter leader added: "First and foremost, you need to be realistic about certain things. Away from home, we've got a losing bonus point in the Premiership and that in itself is never an easy thing to get. For most of the game we probably looked like the side that should have won the game, so we are aware of the positives.

"That's something we are good at pushing through at the club and I know that we will come through things. At the same time, though, you do need to sit back and realise that you can be positive, you can create lots of opportunities and we could have won the game by whatever many points. The reality, however, is we didn't and we have face up to the reasons why.

"The guys have been open and honest about it this week, nobody is running away from anything, and those who have made mistakes have put their hands up. I know from working with them every day, all of them are good guys and that they will learn from it."

Next up for the Chiefs are Saracens, who this weekend will be showcasing their new multi-million pound 4G surface for the first time in the English leagues. Like their Westcountry opponents, they too came unstuck last time out as they went down to London Irish at the Madejski Stadium.

Having analysed the threat of the Londoners, as well as contemplating life on a new surface, Baxter is in upbeat mood ahead of the trip.

He said: "Going away to Saracens is not the easiest way to try and bounce through an away loss, but at the same time we've played well against Saracens in the past and there is a reality they are missing a few important players, so it's an opportunity for us to restart and reset ourselves from where we are and where we want to be.

"Looking at them this week, we're aware of their quality and how they defend, but we know if we get our game plan right we can be a good side too. Seeing us train I've had a good feeling about the players this week and that they are determined to do well. Winning and losing is one thing, but good levels of performances is ultimately more important as they decide where you end up over the course of the season.

"As I said, I've looked at us this week, I've looked in the guys eyes and I can see we are ready for a game of rugby."

Team news for the Chiefs sees Baxter make four changes to the starting line-up that faced the Sharks.

In the pack, summer signings Damian Welch and Kai Horstmann both make their first-ever Premiership starts for the Devon club. Welch takes over from skipper Tom Hayes in the second-row, whilst Horstmann's inclusion at No.8 sees Richard Baxter switch across the back-row to replace Ben White at flanker. Behind, Ian Whitten comes into the midfield in place of Sireli Naqelevuki and Matt Jess (pictured) comes in on the wing for Fijian Watisoni Votu.

CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE SARACENS

15 Luke Arscott
14 Jack Nowell
13 Ian Whitten
12 Jason Shoemark
11 Matt Jess
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Will Chudley
1 Ben Moon
2 Neil Clark
3 Hoani Tui
4 Dean Mumm
5 Damian Welch
6 Richard Baxter (capt)
7 James Scaysbrook
8 Kai Horstmann

16 Jack Yeandle
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Alex Brown
19 Tom Hayes
20 Aly Muldowney
21 Haydn Thomas
22 Ignacio Mieres
23 Phil Dollman