Baxter calls on Chiefs to win the 10-pointers
ROB Baxter says every match is a virtual cup final for Exeter as they look to make the Premiership play-offs and progress in the Heineken Champions Cup.
The Chiefs secured a trophy last weekend after defeating London Irish in the Premiership Cup final in Brentford having struggled away from home this season and with three of their four remaining league matches on the road director of rugby Baxter said confidence was high.
“The final was huge for us,” said Baxter. “We know we are going to have to knock over some games away from home if we are to have a chance of achieving anything. We are getting there and that away performance is there.
“It feels like we are growing into what we want to be as a team. This weekend is an opportunity to see if that is coming into fruition and we will know a lot more about where we stand in the Premiership after Bath.
“We are getting to the acid test stage where matches are almost like cup finals every week and we have to embrace that. After Bath, our fixtures are 10-pointers against teams who are immediately around us, Bristol, Leicester and London Irish.
“You can look on Sunday as the game in hand we have on some teams. It gives us the opportunity to make sure that the other games are 10-pointers if we get something from the Bath game. What is often damaging for teams is the pressure of not wanting to lose and we have got to rise above that in what will be an interesting end to the season.”
Exeter missed out on the top four last season to end a run of six successive Premiership finals at Twickenham and Baxter said he was confident his team would be in the mix this year.
“It will come down to fine margins but the team which takes hold of it by the scruff of the neck and relishes it will do very well. It is my job to put the lads in that frame of mind.
“Bath will have been frustrated by their season, but they have picked up seven losing bonus points so there are a number of games where they have not lost by much.
“They are rebuilding under new management and improvement takes time. We have to be careful we do not become one of their scalps in a tight and competitive game. We have to rise above the pressure of needing to perform and win and focus on ourselves.”
Exeter are losing some of the players who were part of their league and Champions Cup double two years ago, including Jack Nowell, the Simmonds brothers and Luke-Cowan Dickie.
“They are ready to contribute to the end of the season alongside an exciting younger crop,” said Baxter. “I hope our experience at coming through this stage of the season counts and there is a vibrancy in the group. If we maintain that energy, there is no reason why we cannot challenge right until the end of the season.”