Baxter looks for positives in defeat

Rob Baxter attempted to pick the positives out of a disappointing display from his Exeter Chiefs side as they slipped to only their second Aviva Premiership defeat of the season at Northampton Saints.

Mike Haywood’s first half try, together with a penalty from fly-half JJ Hanrahan, enabled the Saints to return to winning ways with a narrow 8-3 victory at Franklin’s Gardens. Gareth Steenson’s late penalty ensured the visitors at least grabbed a losing bonus point from their trek to the East Midlands, but that was one of only a few highlights for Baxter to reflect on at the final whistle.

“I think we’ve stolen a point haven’t we? That’s what it feels like,” said the Chiefs head coach.

“I am pleased with the losing bonus point, but I am not pleased with how we played – I thought we were a bit off today. “I thought Saints looked more in control of the game for longer periods than we did and you can’t take that away from them. Looking at the game, our moments of territory and possession were quite sporadic in comparison to Northampton.

“That said, to end up five points down and in with a shout at the end of getting something right at the end is something we should be proud of. As I said, I don’t think we turned up here today – and we’ll talk about that next week – with the right intensity levels to win the game, but I am quite pleased the guys have dug in and come away with the losing bonus point.”

Although the Chiefs were much improved in the second half, they could not replicate the same attacking flow which had seen them accrue six successive league wins before this latest setback. “I am not going to stand here and say I know exactly what it is and say I can put my finger on it, but I just thought we were a little tentative early in the game,” added Baxter.

“We never really found a way of getting into the game. We couldn’t make our maul much of a weapon because we didn’t claim enough line-out ball.

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