Match Reaction - Rob Baxter
By Mark Stevens
15/1/22
Rob Baxter believes his Exeter Chiefs side are moving in the right direction after a stunning second half display saw them sweep to a 52-17 victory over Glasgow Warriors in the Heineken Champions Cup.
The Chiefs emphatically avenged their defeat in the Glasgow fog just before Christmas, finding overdrive after trailing by three points with 50 minutes gone.
The European champions of 2020 cut loose with six tries in 26 second half minutes to demolish Glasgow’s victory hopes and secure a bonus-point success that brought the round of 16 within touching distance.
Tom O’Flaherty and Sam Simmonds’ converted scores helped give the Chiefs a 14-10 lead, before the Warriors regained the lead early in the second half when Matt Fagerson barrelled over from close range.
It was the spark that ignited the Chiefs fires and in a ruthless conclusion to the game, O’Flaherty (2), Simmonds, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jack Nowell and Dave Ewers would all score to secure the vital bonus point success.
“If someone had said to me before the game that something like that was going to happen, I almost wouldn’t have believed them,” said the Exeter Director of Rugby.
“People will be aware of the season we’ve had, one with plenty of ups and downs, where we’ve lacked that real consistency in our game. Even today, when we got two scored up in the first half, the old ghosts were there and we had a breather which allowed them back into the game.
“The second half started in much the same vein, but then we kind of found our mojo, and the decisions by the whole tea, helped to rekindle things for us. I think what you saw was as our set-piece started to really function, it allowed our backs to thrive and vice-versa. What you saw was some of those real Exeter qualities that we have been looking for.”
The victory lifted the Chiefs to third in Pool A and keeps them firmly in the qualification mix with just one more fixture (away to Montpellier) still to complete.
"We had a relatively basic game-plan around creating pressure, going to the corner and creating as many five-metre opportunities as we could. We wanted to keep going and build our game around it,” added Baxter.
"We created defensive pressure, kick-chase pressure and set-piece pressure. That allows you to move up the field, and if you we up the field, and our driving game is on, we are a tough side to stop repeatedly."
It was vintage stuff from the Chiefs and the sort of performance that have been threatening in recent weeks. Naturally, Baxter was delighted with the performance of his troops in battle.
Baxter continued: "You could just see the team flourishing on one another's actions. The backs flourished on good ball from forwards; the forwards flourished on the defensive pressure put on by the backs.
"Ours As and Bs and Cs stood up. We built our way up the pitch as we have done in really good years, and that is probably the highlight for me – that DNA is still there. We've just got to let it out a bit more."
And Baxter will want more of the same from his squad, not just next weekend in France, but further down the line with some important Gallagher Premiership fixtures looming large on the horizon.
“We need to get points next week, but we also need to show a similar consistency across this next group of Premiership games, because that will be a real challenge, particularly with boys going away to the Six Nations and others still out injured,” said the Chiefs boss.
“As I say, it will throw up some challenges, but if we can get through those challenges then things will get really exciting for us.
“For now, let’s enjoy this performance for a couple of days and then come back in next week, ready to work hard again and prepare for what will be a tough game over in Montpellier.”