Sweeney praises Exeter's spirit

By Mark Stevens

Ceri Sweeney praised the fighting spirit of the Exeter Chiefs as they came within a whisker of reclaiming their LV= Cup crown against Saracens on Sunday.

Down 20-6 midway through the second half, the Devon club produced a rousing fightback to draw level thanks to two converted tries from young full-back Max Bodilly.

However, just as the contest looked to be heading for extra time, Saracens landed a sucker punch when man-of-the-match Ben Spencer plundered a decisive penalty with the very last kick of the game.

It was a tough pill for the Chiefs to swallow, particularly given their efforts in the final quarter, but former Welsh international Sweeney insisted there had been plenty of positives to take from this season's title defence.

"It's really disappointing to come away like that at the end," said Sweeney, who skippered the Chiefs at Franklin's Gardens. "At one stage we were staring down the barrel being 14 points down, but we knew there was still plenty of time left and we felt if we could get ourselves back into the game, had a bit of territory and a bit of ball, we could do something.

"Fair play to the boys, we got back in it, but then we gave away the penalty at the end. Even then the Sarries number nine had a lot of pressure on him to land the kick, but he did it and they got the result in the end."

Although hurting with the end outcome at the weekend, Sweeney insists there is still plenty of life within the Exeter squad and he is confident the club can continue to flourish, both in the Aviva Premiership and European Challenge Cup in the coming weeks.

"The way the club is going, fighting on three fronts, it's unrealistic for one team to play all the games," said Sweeney, who slotted two first half penalties to give his side a slender 6-3 lead at the break.

"Competitions like the LV= Cup are great for the development of the youngsters within the squad and for the older guys it's just as good for us to get out there and play some rugby.

"You can see the strides the club have made, even in this past year, so we know we're moving in the right direction. Days like today are great occasions and although we're hurting right now, you can't question the effort and fighting spirit of this group of players. They gave everything out there today and we've come up just short."

But no sooner had the Chiefs checked back into Sandy Park on Sunday night, then thoughts were quickly switched to this weekend's crunch Premiership date away to Leicester Tigers on Saturday (3pm).

"That's one of the good things about rugby, you don't tend to wait too long to put things right," continued Sweeney. "Leicester is another huge game for us, so if we can nullify the mistakes we made today, work on a few other things, then hopefully we can get another win up there."

Sweeney, who joined the Chiefs during the summer of 2013 from Cardiff Blues, also paid tribute to the Exeter supporters who made themselves heard throughout Sunday's clash in Northampton.

"The fans were outstanding as always," he said. "You can't ask for any more from them, they are like an extra player for us and I know they'll be as disappointed as we are at the end result. That said, we'll look to put things right again this week and hopefully give them something to shout about up at Leicester."