Western Morning News (Saturday)
Champions aiming to finish year on a high
Joe Simmonds will captain double winners against Gloucester
EUROPEAN and English champions Exeter Chiefs will be looking to end an unprecedented year on a positive note when they face Gloucester in the Gallagher Premiership at Sandy Park this afternoon (3pm).
The recent Covid outbreak within the playing side, which saw the Chiefs have to cancel their muchanticipated Champions Cup trip to Toulouse, has been brought under control, enabling director of rugby Rob Baxter to pick a strong side to face the Cherry & Whites.
“We will have a pretty strong squad to pick from based on players who have completed their isolation and guys who have now tested negative three times in a row,” said Baxter.
“And we’ll have a further test on Thursday morning [Christmas Eve] to confirm… so we’re actually doubling up all our testing beyond that required by Premiership Rugby.
“That has enabled us to get on top of this scenario very quickly and we are fully expecting zero positives [on Thursday].
“Anyone who plays against Gloucester will have passed tests on Monday and Thursday. We did this last week and it’s really helped us make sure our isolation has worked and addressed any issue we’ve got.”
It is a powerful Chiefs line-up Baxter has assembled for the festive fixture, however, it’s one he says will need to be at their very best to tackle a Gloucester side, whose tails will be up following last weekend’s home win over Ulster in the Champions Cup.
“The one thing I remember from when we played them last in lockdown was just how tough they were,” warned Baxter. “It was a changed-up Gloucester team, but they were very physical, very committed and they challenged us in numerous ways.
“You only have to look at the way
they came back against a top European side in Ulster last weekend to see they have a bit about them. You can see they have a bit of believe in themselves, they look as though they are enjoying their rugby, so that makes them dangerous.”
The Chiefs have collected maximum hauls against Harlequins, Bath and Leicester Tigers (in the Premiership) and Glasgow Warriors (in the Champions Cup) and across all facets of play Baxter is delighted with what he is seeing from his players
“The lads are driving all of that,” Baxter added. “The attitude across
the squad is good. What they are doing in terms of the quality of our attack, plus the quality of our decision-making, is in turn helping aid our defence.
“Discipline is also a massive part of that as well, so the lads need to be credited for what they have been doing in helping creating that foundation from which we can build each performance.”
15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds (capt), 9 Jack Maunder, 1 Ben Moon, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Harry Williams, 4 Jonny Gray, 5 Sam Skinner, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Jannes Kirsten, 8 Sam Simmonds