Rob Baxter to ‘move Exeter forward’ after dramatic coaching changes

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has insisted that the Premiership club must put the past behind them and move on after a dramatic 10 days for the Devonians. 

In the wake of their 79-17 defeat to Gloucester at Kingsholm, head coach Rob Hunter and backs coach Ali Hepher were suspended pending a full review. Long-standing chairman Tony Rowe then issued a damning statement alleging a “clear disconnect” between the players and the coaching group, and just two days later Hunter left the club for good by mutual consent.

‘We’ve got to move on’ – Rob Baxter

Following the dramatic reshuffle, Baxter has since taken back on-field coaching duties for the final three games of the season, and he now hopes to put everything that has gone on in the past and focus on moving forward.

“Rob (Hunter) had a very successful career here,” said Baxter. “He’s a good guy and a good friend, he’s been a big part of a successful period for the club, and we wish him all the best for the future. There will be a lot of opportunities for him in the rugby world in the future.”

“Everybody is grateful for what Ali and Rob have done and their commitment to the club, but we’ve got to move on. I’m not going to lament with the players, we’ve got to move on.”

He added: “The things with the squad and with the coaching have happened, and the only thing I’m talking to the players and the coaches who are still here is how we move forward in a positive way. I could go round and round in circles talking in all kinds of detail, but it’s irrelevant. What’s relevant is what’s happening now.”

Amid the coaching exits at Sandy Park, there have also been growing calls for Baxter to leave his post as DoR, but with the coaching reins back in his hands, he feels he can turn things around for the Devonians.

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“I am where I am, I’m going to coach the team how I coach, I think I know how to move us forward. People can make their own decisions on who should be here and who shouldn’t be here, that’s never been a concern of mine. My expectation is I’ve got the job now and I’ll do everything I can to be successful in it.”

Addressing what he could do to help things along, he detailed that he will start to treat the players like ‘grown-ups’.

“All they are going to get from me is honesty,” he said. “I’m going to treat them like grown-ups. They’re going to get honest reviews, comments and appraisals; it’s going to be that simple.”

‘The whole season has been difficult’

While the past 10 days have arguably been the most dramatic in the club’s recent history, this has been just one part of a sorry season. Exeter currently languish in ninth place in the Premiership with just three wins to their name, and they also lost all four of their Champions Cup matches and were dumped out at the pool stage.

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A good Premiership Cup run nearly salvaged the campaign as they reached the final, but they were then thumped 48-14 by Bath in the showpiece event at Sandy Park.

“The whole season has been difficult, not just these two or three weeks,” Baxter said. “We’ve not had a great season, and this is a magnification of that. We’ve had spells where we, falsely, thought things were getting better, then had a lapse. The whole season has been a challenge.”

He added: “I always used to say our biggest strength in the Championship was that we failed to get promoted loads of times and we’ve been relegated down to the fourth tier of English rugby. We had plans then on where we were going, and we’ve got plans now. This is a scenario we’ve done before, and I’m sure we’ll do it again.”

Exeter now turn their attention to a clash with Champions Cup finalists Northampton Saints, fresh from their 37-34 win over Leinster at the Aviva, but Baxter said anything other than a win would be a disappointment.

“The only thing that’s a success is a win, we’ve got to change our expectations. Without realising, our expectations have dropped to a low level. That’s what I said to the players as well, we went three seasons once and lost just one home game.”

“Our expectations have got to change, and that will help us be a better team. A good result will be a win; anything else, we should be disappointed with.”

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