Exeter Chiefs ‘looking to what comes next’ as Rob Baxter cites area club have worked ‘really hard’ to change
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter (left) feels his side are building genuine foundations for the future.
This time last year, Exeter Chiefs were rooted to the bottom of the PREM table and on the hunt for their first win of the season, but come Sunday evening, they could be top.
The Devonians seem a side reborn in the early stages of the new season, losing just one of their opening six PREM games to date, alongside a tally of eight from a possible 10 points in the EPCR Challenge Cup – which sees them sit second in Pool Three after the opening two rounds.
And now, should they beat rivals Saracens at StoneX Stadium on Saturday and results elsewhere go their way, Exeter could find themselves named Christmas number one for the first time since 2018.
‘I’m definitely seeing the right foundations for us to build from’
Changes this drastic do not simply happen overnight, though, and Exeter have very much undergone an off-season of change.
Baxter himself has taken a more hands-on coaching role, which in turn has seen the Chiefs revert back to the blueprint which powered them from PREM newbies to two-time champions, to go alongside an Investec Champions Cup triumph in 2020. Around that, too, new attack coach Dave Walder has quickly got a tune out of the club’s exciting backline.
They also hit the market hard ahead of the new season. Wallabies duo Tom Hooper and Len Ikitau were the headline arrivals at Sandy Park, while Springbok hooker Joseph Dweba, Italian international pairing Andrea Zambonin and Stephen Varney, Georgian prop Bachuki Tchumbadze and Waratahs hooker Julian Heaven also made the South West their home.
“Without doubt, things feel a lot more positive on the playing front, results front and where we stand in the competitions,” says Baxter. “But at the same time, you’re looking to what comes next.
“We’re in a scenario now where dropping away from the top four would be disappointing. It’s great we’re there, but we’ve got something to fight for.
“Right here and now, I’m definitely seeing the right foundations for us to build from. That’s the important bit for me, it’s not necessarily that we’re second in the (PREM) table, but there’s genuine foundations for what looks like a good team coming.
“We’ve worked really hard on the importance of the individual players to what the team can achieve. A big part of that is having a good pre-season; we focused on it massively then, if you’re going to have a positive impact on the team then you need to be well-prepared.”
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“Most of the clips I show in the review would also be different to what people might think. Most of what I talk about in the review shows the good parts and bad parts of our character, and right now I’m showing a lot more good habits and character in the side. Those are the things that make you stronger, and then you can add layers on top of that.
“Our job as coaches is to show the importance of it, how it makes you successful and get the players to understand it, believe it and see it. Once they do, they then drive it and you get that cycle you want.
“We as coaches have to keep encouraging it and create a momentum behind it that then helps drive the team forward. That’s what we’re doing; we’re keeping it simple but simple in the right ways.”
“The best way to sum it up is if we can’t win, we draw. If we can’t draw, we lose by one,” adds back-rower Ethan Roots, fresh from penning a new two-year deal with the Chiefs.
“No matter who takes the pitch or who we’re up against – even if it’s a bunch of bloody aliens or whatever it is – they’re going to have to scrap and fight for every inch of the pitch and point they get. There are no easy wins.
“From a player’s point of view, that’s what this place was built on. We’ve got a good group that’s got that instilled now, and it’s about doing it for the rest of the season.”
While the possibility of being top at Christmas serves as a stark contrast to the woes of last year, Roots actually credits a lot of their upturn to the experiences of that season.
“The experience we had has helped fortify the squad,” he says. “We’ve had some nice signings, but the young group has also got better. They went out to Paris at the weekend (to play Racing) and put out a hell of a performance, and that sort of stuff is so important.
“Last year was a write-off, but it helped us grow as a whole into this year; and a lot of the young group have re-signed for next year too so it’s building that momentum with the same squad.
“Winning helps, but there’s a buzz about the changing room now and we’re seeing all of those little things helping us gain momentum and win games of rugby.”
