Western Morning News (Saturday)
Make most of home advantage, Chiefs told
Ricky Pellow says Exeter Chiefs must make the most of home advantage in this next fortnight if they are to keep alive their dreams of retaining the Premiership Rugby Cup.
The holders kicked off their campaign with a 22-22 draw away to Newcastle Falcons last Sunday, a result which – according to skills coach Pellow – offered both positives and negatives for the Devon club when he was picked through by the coaching team this week.
Down 22-10 going into the final quarter at Kingston Park, the Chiefs dug deep into their reserves to fashion a determined fightback that yielded two tries and – for a split second – almost a priceless victory in the North East.
In the end, Pellow’s side had to settle for a share of the spoils, meaning there is now greater emphasis on today’s visit of Bath to Sandy Park (1pm) and that of Harlequins a week later.
“The message from us as coaches is that we let ourselves down on Sunday in terms of how we normally play, so we have a big opportunity in the next couple of games to really drive on,” said Pellow.
“To come back and get the draw was really pleasing, but after going through the game and analysing it, we came away a little disappointed with a few things.
“We’ve got two big home games coming up now in this competition and we have to make the most of them.”
Chiefs have tinkered with their line-up from a week ago. In the pack, Jack Innard, Sean Lonsdale and James Freeman are all brought into the fray, while behind the back division is boosted by former Bath favourite Ollie Devoto, Jack Maunder, James Short and Joe Simmonds. Olly Woodburn (hamstring) and Toby Salmon (foot) miss out.