South Wales Echo

EXETER CHIEFS..............19 WASPS...............................13

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EXETER boss Rob Baxter plans to use the Chiefs’ first double as the launchpad for a dynasty of success having acquired a taste for silverware.

A enthrallin­g 19-13 victory over Wasps at Twickenham clinched a second Gallagher Premiershi­p title for the Devonians a week after they were crowned European champions by edging Racing 92 in similarly captivatin­g circumstan­ces.

Now seeking to emulate fellow English double winners Leicester, Wasps and Saracens by establishi­ng an era of dominance, Exeter are determined to continue the fairy tale started 10 years ago when they reached the top flight for the first time.

When asked if toppling Wasps and Racing on successive weekends is just the beginning, Baxter said: “I’d like to think so because I genuinely think that not getting to finals and not progressin­g will hurt us.

“It took us years and years and years to win the Premiershi­p for the first time. We could then have said we’ve achieved everything we wanted to achieve.

“But we didn’t and now that we’ve won these two trophies, have we achieved everything we’ve wanted to? No we haven’t. There’s always something else to move on to.

“There’s another game in three weeks’ time and we want to keep moving forward. I want to see young guys come through. I want to see Joe Simmonds keep developing.

“We’ve got to use our drive and use our ambition and use this group of players, because they are the right age group, to drive us for four or five years.

“We need to use their desire to experience these moments as much as we can. It won’t be simple, it never is. For us it’s always been about steady progress.”

Staggering­ly, the defence of their hard-won domestic crown begins in less than a month as they open the 2021-22 Premiershi­p campaign at Harlequins on November 20.

Wing Jack Nowell has been ruled out for a substantia­l length of time yet to be confirmed after playing both finals with ruptured toe ligaments.

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