Chiefs side to face Falcons
By Mark Stevens
5/2/21
Rob Baxter believes his side’s return to winning ways in the Gallagher Premiership last week can act as the foundation for them to continue to push on further this season.
Fresh from a hard-fought 21-17 win at Worcester Warriors, last season’s champions make their longest trip of the season on Sunday when they head to Kingston Park to face fourth-placed Newcastle Falcons (1pm).
Having suffered back-to-back losses to rivals Wasps and Bristol Bears, the Chiefs rediscovered their winning formula a week ago with a performance that has been lauded by Baxter this week in his post-game assessment.
“I’ll be honest, last week I was actually really looking forward to the game,” said the Chiefs Director of Rugby. “I know that may sound a bit strange, especially as we weren’t on great form, but I kind of felt the lads had been good and that they were better than the two scoreline [against Wasps and Bristol] had suggested.
“We then had a good couple of weeks where we sat down and cleared the air a little bit. What I saw was the lads really bought into things and they were very positive in and around training which, as it showed, then continued into the Worcester game. And for me, I am more proud of our performance against Worcester than I was in some of the earlier season performances where we scored a lot of points.
“When I looked at our physical scores - that’s basically hard hard we were willing to physically work - they were through the roof compared to anything else we have achieved this season and that says to me that this group has reset themselves.
“Yes, it wasn’t a perfect performance, but we never ask ask for that. All we ask of the guys is show a real attitude and commitment and that’s what we got. When I read the physical scores out to the lads, they were fantastic and some of the best we have seen for quite a while. As a coach, nothing makes me prouder than seeing something like that because it demonstrates a team who want to work hard.
“Winning or losing, that happens, but the one thing you want from your team is for them work hard and they were willing to do that. That’s why we won the game. It wasn’t necessarily a spectacular win, but I do think people need to realise what Worcester brought to the game as well. They were tough on the day and they scored a try and they stopped us converting two or three opportunities that we’d normally expect to convert.
“For us, last week was a step forward and it’s given us the foundation to now build from. Yes, we will get ups and down, wins and losses along the way, but the one thing I know we have here is a ream who are willing to work very hard for one another.”
More of the same will be needed from Baxter’s side on Sunday against a Falcons outfit, who themselves will be looking for a return to winning ways having come unstuck at London Irish last time out.
“Games at Newcastle are often the same at Worcester, I don’t think we’ve ever gone there and be sat with 20 minutes to go feeling comfortable,” added Baxter. “That’s not what Premiership games are like, they are tough games of rugby. What we need to do is decide to be tough, work hard to take our opportunities, and look to weather the storm a bit. It’s going to be a tough, it’s going to be cold, it could be snowy, so it’s going to be interesting. It’s a challenge, though, I expect us to relish.
Six Nations call-ups mean Baxter will be without seven recognised first-team players for the long trek to the North East, but he will be boosted by the return to fitness of full-back Facundo Cordero and winger Alex Cuthbert, the latter who has not played since the away game at Wasps in October due to injury.
They are two of four changes Baxter has made to last weekend’s starting line-up, the others come in the pack where Marcus Street starts at tight-head and former Falcons player, Will Witty, comes into the second-row.
For others within the squad, however, Baxter believes it’s a chance to further enhance their own claims for greater success down the line.
“That is what having a squad is all about,” he continued. “This is a good period for us because it’s a time when I like to see guys grow. For some of our senior players, guys like Alec Hepburn, Sam Simmonds, Ollie Devoto, those are guys who are on the fringe of being in international squads, and others like the Simmonds brothers, Dave Ewers - who I thought was outstanding last week and is really one of the bang on form back-rowers in the division - these are guys who can really lead us through these next few weeks.
“They will all have an important part to play, not just individually, but collectively as well. They, together with some of those guys who we are starting to see make their way into the squad and start to rise, can be a really good mix for us. If you look at someone like Richard Capstick, you saw last week he’s not a player just happy to get game time, this is a guy who is on a journey and he’s desperate to contribute to helping us win.”
Sunday’s game will be screened live on BT Sport.
EXETER CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE NEWCASTLE FALCONS
15 Facundo Cordero
14 Alex Cuthbert
13 Ian Whitten
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Jack Maunder
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Marcus Street
4 Will Witty
5 Sam Skinner
6 Dave Ewers
7 Richard Capstick
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Jack Innard
17 James Kenny
18 Maks Van Dyk
19 Don Armand
20 Sean Lonsdale
21 Stu Townsend
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Tom Hendrickson