Baxter 'disappointed' after Gloucester loss
By Mark Stevens
27/3/21
Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby Rob Baxter did not hold back in expressing his disappointment at seeing his side slip to defeat away to Gloucester in the Gallagher Premiership on Friday night.
The defending champions saw their three-game winning streak brought to a halt at Kingsholm as the Cherry & Whites claimed a 34-18 victory in the Round 15 encounter.
With one eye fixed on next Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup clash with Lyon at Sandy Park, Baxter took the opportunity to run the rule over a number of his other first-team squad members, all of whom would have been keen to impress on the big stage.
For the first half - and parts of the second half - the youthful Chiefs - who included four players making their first-ever Premiership starts - more than held their own against their hosts, who were buoyed by the return of Six Nations flyers Jonny May and Louis Reece-Zammit for the game.
Indeed, they led 15-14 thanks to a stunning try from Josh Hodge, another for Don Armand, and five points from the boot of Harvey Skinner.
However, when push came to shove late on, the Devonians were founding wanting and it was Gloucester who were able to steam clear and deny the Chiefs any points for only the sixth time in the last three years.
Ill discipline and poor decision-making were at the heart of Exeter’s woes and Baxter was quick to highlight the standards he demands of all his players in his post-match briefing to the media.
“I’m disappointed after that first half performance to see us drop away like we did in the second half,” said Baxter. “We have to give credit to Gloucester, they applied pressure and that makes things happen, but I know we are better than that and some of the errors we made.
“Yes I understand the scenario, yes I understand I made the changes, but as I’ve just said to the lads in the changing rooms, you worked hard but we haven’t got anything out of it and we needed to get something out of tonight.
“I don’t mind putting pressure on these ‘change up’ players because the reality is we are double champions and our standards have got to be very high if we want to maintain that place within the game.
“It is not across the board but there are some guys we are going to have to sit down and talk and they are going to have to open their ears and open their eyes in meetings and in training and not keep repeating the same errors.
Unlike last season when the Chiefs claimed impressive away day victories at both Bristol Bears and Northampton Saints, there was to be no repeat showing against a Gloucester side, who had won only three times in the league before this latest success.
Baxter continued, “There is nothing wrong with being disappointed, if I want these lads who played tonight to have careers at Exeter and be successful, they need to learn and become better players quickly, otherwise you don’t get a career, that is the reality of professional sport.
“I am trying to do it for all the right reasons, they probably hate me tonight because they have run out there tonight, worked hard and played quite well, but we still lost and we need them to be better. I can’t help these guys by going in there and saying well done, jump on the bus and have a beer, all I would be doing is shielding them and molly cuddling them, that is not going to move them forward or move us forward as a club.
“Ultimately, my job is when it is tough, be even tougher, and that is what I am doing tonight.”