‘AMAZING’ CHIEFS REACH EUROPEAN FINAL
Exeter director of rugby salutes players as Sandy Park side reach European final
ROB BAXTER has hailed Exeter Chiefs’ “incredible” achievement in reaching a first European Champions Cup final.
The Chiefs will face French side Racing 92 Paris at Ashton Gate in Bristol next month, with the winners being crowned kings of Europe.
Ten years after gaining promotion to the Premiership, Exeter now have a domestic and European title double in their sights following a 28-18 semi-final victory over Toulouse behind closed doors at Sandy Park on Saturday.
“It’s incredible,” Baxter, Exeter’s director of rugby, said. “It’s part of what we’re about as a club now, having things to aim for and go for.
“The biggest thing for me now is not just to turn up and take part in the game. It’s to get out on that field to win it. It’s having an 80-minute game-plan and having a confidence in it and the lads buying into it. That ultimately saw us through today,” he added.
“We had to weather the storm, we had to make them work hard for their points, but ultimately that’s what allowed us to get some points later on.
“Big games of rugby, they’re like boxing matches. At some stages, the guy who can’t get his hands up any more can get knocked out – and we created enough of those moments today. Everyone bought into the overall 80 minutes. We made Toulouse have to keep getting off the floor, and made them have to keep doing something to get metres.
“Everyone bought into the whole 80-minute thing,” Baxter continued. “What is the best way of fatiguing a big guy? You stick him on the floor and get him to get up.”
The Chiefs’ forwards drove them into the final, as prop Harry Williams scored two tries, number eight Sam Simmonds also touched down and skipper Joe Simmonds added a stunning individual score.
Fly-half Joe Simmonds, younger brother of Sam, converted all four scores, while replacement lock Alban Placines scored a first-half try for Toulouse, with full-back Thomas Ramos kicking two penalties and converting Matthis Lebel’s consolation touchdown.
Baxter added: “I feel very proud about it, but I feel amazing for the players.
“This European season has been the longest-ever. Our first pool game against La Rochelle was months and months ago, and we started this European journey then.
“Then we had lockdown, and our guys stayed in good nick. They worked hard, and that has allowed us to push on,” he said. “You’ve got to keep handing it back to the players when you see performances like today.
“It has been a lot of hard work from a lot of good people, and it does feel like a fantastic achievement.
“Going up the road for the final is a reward you get for working hard through the pool. That’s how it works. You go after it in the pool, and you end up being one of the top seeds.
“We feel we’ve got the right players fit and fresh at this stage of the season, which is more important than anything else, and it feels like we’re coming together at the right time.
“We’re still only in a final and a semi-final. We could lose two games, and our season could finish, effectively, so there’s still an awful lot for us to have to work for.”
EXETER CHIEFS reached their first European Champions Cup final after flooring French heavyweights Toulouse with a 28-18 victory at Sandy Park on Saturday.
The Chiefs’ forwards drove them into a final showdown against Racing 92 Paris at Ashton Gate on October 17, as prop Harry Williams scored two tries, number eight Sam Simmonds also touched down, and skipper Joe Simmonds iced the celebration cake through a stunning individual score.
Fly-half Joe Simmonds, younger brother of Sam, converted all four scores, and just ten years after Exeter were promoted to the Premiership they are now one win away from being crowned kings of Europe.
The Chiefs remain firmly on course for a domestic and European double, a feat that has only been managed by three English clubs – Leicester, Wasps and Saracens.
Toulouse’s bid for a record fifth European title will have to wait, although they pushed Exeter all the way in Devon.
The French side led for much of the first half, with replacement lock Alban Placines scoring a try and fullback Thomas Ramos kicking two penalties, before Matthis Lebel added a consolation score that Ramos converted. But they failed to score a point between the 36th and 76th minutes, such was Exeter’s control, built on the back of a huge pack effort and impressive discipline.
Exeter showed one change from the side that beat quarter-final opponents Northampton the previous weekend, with Sam Skinner replacing flanker Jacques Vermeulen, while one switch for Toulouse saw a start for hooker Julien Marchand.
The visitors made a superb start, twice getting their star wing Cheslin Kolbe involved in a multi-phase attack, before Exeter infringed and Ramos kicked a fourth-minute penalty.
Ramos doubled Toulouse’s lead through a second penalty ten minutes later, and Exeter could make little impression on the contest as their opponents dominated possession and territory.
Toulouse put together repeated threatening passages of play, ensuring a huge defensive shift by the Chiefs, and it took a fine tackle by wing Tom O’Flaherty to deny his opposite number Yoann Huget a try.
The only setback for Toulouse during a dominant opening quarter was seeing their Australia international lock Rory Arnold go off injured, although Exeter stirred when centre Ian Whitten broke clear and posed a first question to Toulouse’s defence.
The Chiefs grew on the back of Whitten’s opportunism as they went ahead through a trademark closerange score after their forwards rumbled Toulouse and Williams touched down. Simmonds kicked the conversion, and a one-point advantage after being dominated for so long said everything about Exeter’s character and resilience.
The lead only lasted five minutes, though, as Toulouse produced further evidence of their ability to keep possession and recycle it rapidly when Placines crossed in the corner after Exeter’s defence ran out of numbers.
However, the Chiefs again responded, going 14-11 in front at the break after their forwards’ collective strength and organisation allowed Sam Simmonds to claim Exeter’s second try, which his brother converted.
Toulouse had only conceded a total of 19 second-half points across seven games in this season’s Champions Cup, so Exeter still had everything to do.
They had to absorb more pressure as Toulouse went back on the front foot, but a break by the Chiefs’ Scotland international full-back Stuart Hogg established momentum, and Exeter’s pack prospered.
Again it was Williams who emerged from under his fellow forwards, claiming a second try and Exeter’s third, with Simmonds’ conversion leaving Toulouse ten points adrift.
Then Joe Simmonds put Exeter in dreamland, shredding the Toulouse defence to score a brilliant solo try that he also converted to book a date with Racing in Bristol next month.