Chiefs side to face Saints

Exeter’s 26-15 win at Gloucester last Friday, coupled with a 20-14 loss at home to Bristol Bears for the Saints, means it’s last season’s beaten finalists who have at least a four-point advantage over the chasing pack heading into the second half of the season.

Keen to see a purposeful response from his team following the mid-season break, which had started with a 22-19 loss at home to Sale Sharks, the visiting Chiefs duly delivered at Kingsholm, producing a powerful and disciplined display against the Cherry & Whites.

“We could not have asked for any more from the guys in regards character, emotion, energy and intensity,” said Baxter. “On the night, I thought our guys were fantastic. We talk a lot here about aligning our energy as a team – and as individuals – into what we feel is going to be really important on the day.

“As it proved, with the conditions like they were, we knew areas like the set-piece, the energy we would need to bring, plus the quality of our defence would need to be huge. What you would sometimes say are negatives of the game, actually they were going to be massively important in that game.

“Literally, to a man, that is where all of our energy and our focus went. By working hard and performing like we did, it meant Gloucester’s forwards couldn’t gain any momentum and that in turn gave us some very good territorial footholds into the game.

“Then, when we needed to defend, we defended every line on the pitch like it was out own try-line. Numerous times we drove Gloucester back up field a long way, simply through the strength of our defence and our willingness to work hard.

“Sunday’s going to be interesting, particularly as it’s a top of the table clash,” added Baxter. “Like ourselves, they’ve got players injured and others away on international duty. They have also share the same ambitions as we do about what they want to achieve.

“For both sides it’s a big game. At the same time, it’s also a chance for us to put right some of the wrongs we feel after that last home game against Sale. We know we didn’t perform in the first half that day and for me that doesn’t feel right, especially in front of what has been outstanding home support here for a number of seasons.

“Yes, I’m still annoyed and a little bit sore about that – and I know the players feel the same. I’d like t think that come Sunday, this time we will come out firing and put that performance and that half firmly behind us.”

Ahead of kick-off, Baxter has been forced into changing his winning formula from that which defeated Gloucester. All three of his changes to the starting line-up come in the back division.

Phil Dollman comes in at full-back for Stuart Hogg, who will skipper Scotland against Italy in the Six Nations Championship tomorrow in Rome; Tom Hendrickson is brought into the midfield alongside Ian Whitten, who will be making his 150th Premiership appearance; and Joe Simmonds returns from his three-game ban to fake over the captaincy and No.10 role from Steenson.

On the bench, England international Alec Hepburn is back after recovering from an ankle injury; Don Armand is given the nod ahead of Matt Kvesic; while Max Bodilly fills the void left by Dollman’s elevation into the starting XV.