Rob Baxter concerned by Exeter’s mental approach
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter has already set his sights on Gloucester after seeing his side succumb to a shock defeat to London Irish.
The West Countrymen went down to the previously winless London Irish 33-21 on Saturday, leaving the Chiefs with just three victories in six matches.
They have struggled for consistency and Baxter admits that his Exeter side are not staying switched on for the whole 80 minutes.
Intensity is off
“We were lacking something. Rugby’s a good game in a lot of ways in that you win the games you deserve to win and lose the games you deserve to lose,” director of rugby Baxter said.
“That’s exactly what it feels like now. It doesn’t feel like a blood and guts loss, it feels like a pretty poor loss.
“Individually our intensity was off and because of that our team intensity was off, so you get a result like that.
“We weren’t on our toes and that hunger to fight for our try-line… it’s a funny thing. It’s clear right here and now that the consistency of our mental approach to the game is our biggest problem.
“It’s not a technical thing, but mentally we’re up for a game and down for a game. And then during the game. That wavering up and down is the biggest issue.
“The hardest thing in any sport is finding the motivation to fight all the time and explode into teams.
“It’s a short turnaround until Friday, which is good for us because I’m looking forward to getting back onto the rugby field.
“I don’t want to spend all week thinking about this, I’ll get it analysed and then put it to bed very quickly.”
While it was London Irish’s first success of the season, the result came as no surprise having drawn two matches and accumulated four bonus points until their trip to the two-time Premiership champions.
“It was a big win but we’ve been close before this but didn’t take our chances at times and given away too many easy moments,” Exiles head coach Les Kiss said.
“We’re happy with this because we know it’s a big ask to come here and beat them. We’re not surprised we could get this result because we’ve been playing pretty well. I’m immensely proud of the effort the boys put in.”
Leicester boss Steve Borthwick praises England half-backs
Meanwhile, Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick was delighted with the efforts of England internationals Ben Youngs and George Ford following their victory over Sale Sharks.
The Midlands outfit secured their sixth successive win of the Premiership season after they overcame the Sharks 19-11 in a physical contest at Welford Road.
“George Ford did a really good job to get us into a position to win the game,” Borthwick said.
“And Ben was tremendous. When an opportunity presents itself, there are not too many better around than Ben Youngs, and I think he is getting sharper and sharper.
“He did some real good things, he managed our way through the first half, and he and George Ford were excellent.”
