'Few complaints' from Baxter

 

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter said he had "few complaints" after seeing his side get hit for six by Clermont Auvergne in their latest Heineken Cup fixture.

The star-studded French giants were in scintillating form as not only did they maintain their 100 per cent record in Pool 5, but at the same time they stretched their unbeaten home record at the imposing Stade Marcel Michelin to a staggering 54 games.

Tries from Wesley Fofana, Jean-Marcellin Buttin (2), Damian Chouly, David Skrela and Naipolioni Nalaga did the majority of the damage for the home side, whose other points came courtesy of the boot of French international Morgan Parra.

Exeter's scant reward from a hard night's toil was a first half penalty from fly-half Gareth Steenson, although the visitors did play their part in an absorbing contest.

"I think we had our moments in the game," admitted Baxter afterwards. "But we didn't probably see them off and that may have changed the pressure of the game a little bit.

"At the same time, though, there is a reality in that we've come up against a very good side who are not just a team full of very good individual players, but also a team who know where they want to go and play a good brand of rugby.

"I've not got too many complaints after that because we did play some very good rugby at times out there.

"For me, there are two ways to look at it. One is to say that was tough, I did some good things and I want to improve on things; or you can say that has broken me and I don't know what to do from here.

"I think what we have to make sure of is that we learn from today and not doubt ourselves too much because at the end of the day we are still just two and a half seasons into the Premiership - and we've still not completed our first season in Heineken Cup.

"There is a reason this is the top club competition in the world. It's tough out there and every now and again you will get a result like this. I just hope that we learn from all of this and that we get better next week."

And next week will provide another stiff test for the Chiefs as they prepare to welcome defending Heineken Cup champions Leinster to Sandy Park on Saturday (6pm).

"I don't think I'll need to lift the lads after that," said Baxter. "They are a proud bunch of players and I've no doubt they will want to prove a point next week. I have no issues with any of them because I didn't see any player who didn't want to tackle, who didn't hit rucks; who didn't run or who didn't scrummage. It's obvious from our performance that wasn't the case. As I said, sometimes you come up against good players; good teams and you get beaten. That's life.

"There are no instant fixes in this game and there is no way I can click my fingers and we'll beat Leinster next week because it doesn't work like that. Today was a tough lesson for us, but I know results in this game can turn around very quickly.

"A 40 point loss can soon become a three point win in the space of a couple of weeks. I've seen it happen before and I've been involved in games like that. Sometimes it's not the big drama some people think it is for me, yes I am disappointed with certain aspects, but I'm also very pleased with others.

"It's not just the players that are learning from these experiences, I am learning a lot as well. It's not just about the team we are, but it's also learning about the way other teams are coached; the way they play, the players they have; it's a great experience for all of us."