Baxter praises his victorious Chiefs

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter was full of praise for his side after they notched up a third successive Aviva Premiership win with a 21-3 success away to Sale Sharks.

An early penalty try, coupled with first half touchdowns for James Short and Will Chudley, were the highlights for the visitors, whose remaining points came courtesy of skipper Gareth Steenson’s right boot.

Fly-half AJ MacGinty claimed Sale’s only points on the night with a first half penalty, but that completed the scoring for both sides as the second period remained pointless.

Although the Chiefs failed to pick up a fourth try and the all-important bonus point that comes with that feat, Baxter was still a man happy come the final whistle.

“You have to be a bit careful not to get too carried away,” he said. “You see 21-3 on the scoreboard and wonder why we didn’t get the bonus point, but actually I’m really pleased with the lads and the way they played tonight.

“I thought we worked exceptionally hard to put together a performance that got us a very important win away from home at a place where traditionally we’ve not always played that well or got positive results.

“You can’t underestimate the short turnaround for Sale, they played only five days ago at Wasps, so it does drain you a bit. That said, we made the most of it by working very hard ourselves. Defensively we were excellent, our linespeed was there, we showed great discipline and our tackle completion was right up there as well.”

For the full story, go to: http://exeterchiefs.co.uk/news/victory-sale-delights-baxter/