Frustrations will be out driver - Welch

Lock Damian Welch hopes the frustration Exeter Chiefs’ players felt last weekend can help make them a better side in the future.

That starts with this Saturday’s visit of Bath, with Sandy Park already sold out ahead of the match.

Welch said the frustration the players felt after the 17-16 loss against Northampton stemmed from a display in the first half he described as unacceptable.

Having discussed that in team meetings this week, the players are determined to get off to a better start against Bath and not leave themselves in a position where they can lose the game at the death, like they did last time out.

Welch said: “There was a lot of frustration, not just the fact we were in the lead until the 78th minute but also that we could really have helped ourselves if we’d played better in the first half.

“All the boys and the management have made it clear to each other that that first half wasn’t really acceptable in terms of what we set out to do.

“We didn’t really go out there with any physicality and we left ourselves a lot to do in the second half. That said, we’d rather be frustrated about losing to Northampton by a point rather than being frustrated because we’re nowhere near them.



“There are positives to look at as well, but after having a loss players are naturally going to be pessimistic and focus on the bad points. It’s a case of using those bad points to spur us on and make sure we don’t end up in the same situation against Bath.”

Exeter have not beaten any sides in the top five this season, having made slow starts in the matches against all of them.

However, Welch said they know they can mix it with the best as they have had good moments in every game this season.

But the 31-year-old added that the fact the players know they can compete with the best in the Aviva Premiership only increases the frustration as they need to do it for longer.

“We’ve had a few games against the top four where we’ve played well in patches but not the whole game,” he said. “What’s frustrating is that when we’ve played well in those patches we’ve shown we’re more than a match for them.

“It wouldn’t be quite so frustrating if you went out there, had a good go and ultimately you knew you weren’t in the same quality as you came up short.

“When we’ve started games well, like we did against Cardiff in the Heineken Cup, we’ve got right into the game and that’s what we want to be looking at, rather than letting a team come at us and having to work our way through that.

“I think we can avoid getting into those situations by ramping up our dominance in the first half.”

Welch thinks the fact Saturday’s game will be watched by a capacity crowd of around 10,740 shows how much it means to Chiefs supporters.

The well-known statistic that Exeter have not beaten Bath since 1978 adds to the interest, and Welch believes the home side can finally get one over the side from The Rec.

“It’s probably the one game that Exeter fans want us to win this season,” he said. “That would be a nice boost for the crowd if we can get things right and come away with the right result.

“We’re capable of doing it, you’ve just got to look at the talent across our team and there’s certainly no issues with that. It’s just a case of getting that mental monkey off our shoulders.”