Baxter refusing to panic

By Mark Stevens
11/9/2016

Head coach Rob Baxter insists he will not overreact to recent results, despite seeing his Exeter Chiefs side slip to a second successive Aviva Premiership loss of the season against Saracens at Sandy Park.

Last season’s Premiership runners-up find themselves rooted to the foot of the table after reigning champions Saracens secured an impressive 34-13 victory in Round Two.

Sean Maitland helped himself to a brace of tries for the visitors, while there were further scores for Alex Lozowski, Jackson Wray and Ben Spencer. Alex Goode kicked the remainder of the points for Mark McCall’s side, who leapfrogged Bath and Wasps to return to the summit.

The Chiefs countered with two first half penalties from fly-half Henry Slade, plus a converted second half try from Luke Cowan-Dickie, but it was never enough against the star-studded Londoners.

Similar to last May’s Premiership final when Saracens bossed the opening exchanges at Twickenham, the Chiefs again allowed their rivals to control the opening quarter. Down 12-0 inside the opening 20 minutes, Baxter admitted post-match that it left his players with an early mountain to climb.

"It is frustrating," he said. "It's a focus thing and it was a bit of the same with us against Wasps – we had little moments of losing focus. It hurts you against very good sides and I think we've seen it two weeks in a row now. Now we're in an interesting position because we've lost a couple of games for the first time at the start of the season and we're bottom of the league.

"We've got a good team [Harlequins] next week and it's going to be interesting to see how we respond to that. I’ve said to the lads we've got to make sure we respond in the right way. We need to be a bit nervy and a bit edgy, but we need to do that in the right way and it needs to bring the best out of us."

Having made three changes to his starting XV from that which had lost to Wasps seven days earlier, Baxter was hoping a return to home comforts would serve as the perfect pick-me-up for his players.

Sadly, it was not be and although disappointed with this latest outcome, he believes he has seen positives in both defeats that can be used to get his team back on track.

"The truth is that the nice part is that I still saw a lot of good qualities in us," he said. "I think, ultimately, over the course of the game, we paid for a relatively slow start and were probably a little bit sloppy.

“We actually conceded some early points with a strong wind behind us quite easily. We missed a couple of really soft tackles that led to one try, then we got a bit of momentum before giving up a relatively soft penalty on the floor that gave them a driving position and they scored from that.

"I kind of think that always made it very difficult for us – the truth was, though, that, after that start, we actually showed some very good qualities. I know for a fact, when we had our possession stats and territory stats, we were probably in control in those areas, but, unfortunately, that doesn't win you games of rugby.

"Maintaining control, breaking the line and maintaining your defensive discipline is what wins you games and, at times, they just slipped away."

Up against two of last season’s top three, it’s been a testing opening to Exeter’s seventh season in the top flight - and Baxter knows the challenges are there for all to see.

He continued: "I think, broadly speaking, the reality is we've been away to Wasps, who are a good side and showed that in their performance against Leicester Tigers on Saturday, and we actually didn't do too badly up there.

"It was a game we were very disappointed not to win, and, on Sunday, we played against the double champions, who came to Exeter pretty much full on, and I actually thought their international players played very, very well for them. Potentially, without that last score, they beat us by a score, and it doesn't feel so bad.

“Today, we played against the double champions, who came here pretty much full on. I'm not going to overreact to results, what I'll react to is the performances, and if the performances aren't good enough by individuals, we'll make changes, but if the performances are good enough, then they'll stay."