Chiefs side to face Bath
Rob Baxter has called for a greater focus from his Exeter Chiefs side this week, despite kicking off their Gallagher Premiership campaign with victory over Harlequins last Saturday.
Tomorrow, Devon's finest make the short trip to local rivals Bath, looking to build on what was a hard-fought triumph in their seasonal opener.
Jonny Hill's first half touchdown, combined with 17 points from the boot of fly-half Joe Simmonds, proved sufficient enough to see of the Londoners at Sandy Park. However, Director of Rugby Baxter is looking for another step up in standards from his players ahead of their clash in the Roman City (7:45pm).
"There were certainly things to work on after last week, but the more we reviewed the game, the happier we probably were," said Baxter. "There are explanations for the bits that we got wrong, but we've talked about those this week and, hopefully, we have addressed them in time for Friday night.
"As I said, the more we went through the game, the more positives we saw. Defensively, some of our scrambling and how solid we were in defence was great. Also, how much we wanted to play and create try-scoring opportunities, again it was fantastic.
"Where we failed a little bit was to build pressure on pressure. It seemed pretty much every time we scored, unusually for us, we didn't take the restart as comfortably as we'd normally do – or we'd follow it up with an error that allowed Harlequins to start building pressure on us. That's unusual for us, but it doesn't mean we are in panic mode.
"Instead, I want us to tick the boxes. Let's work hard at our scrums; let's work hard at our restarts; let's work hard at our five-metre game; and let's make sure we work hard on the things that make us good, rather than focusing on things we think are important to ourselves. By just doing that re-focus, it will bring us back in like of where we need to be."
Certainly, the Chiefs will have to be on their 'A-game' against a Bath outfit, no doubt still licking their wounds following a hefty opening day defeat to Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate. Baxter knows from past experience that the Blue, Black & Whites – particularly on home turf – are tough opponents to overcome.
"The truth is, going to Bath has not been a happy hunting ground for us, and people need to remember that," warned Baxter. "Yes, we've done OK in the last few years against them, but the reality for an Exeter team going to Bath is, it's a tough place to go and win a game of rugby.
"If we haven't got an expectation within ourselves to go up there and know we have to work extremely hard, then it's going to be very tough again for us. We have to make sure we have our heads in the right place and that our mental focus is more important than anything else at this stage of the season, because I do think we've had a good preparation, I know we're well conditioned, and that everything we're seeing is good. What we need to ensure, however, is that we get our focus sharpened up on the things that really matter."
To help aid the process for the visitors will be the news that Baxter is able to call upon some notable faces for the clash. Dave Ewers returns in the back having overcome an infection to a wound in his head, while England international Ben Moon also returns in the front-row.
Behind, Sam Hill – fresh from a short cameo off the bench against Harlequins last weekend – comes into the centre, while on the wing Alex Cuthbert makes his first appearance since June's Premiership Final at Twickenham, and there is a Chiefs debut for summer signing Stuart Hogg at full-back.
It will be Hogg's first introduction to the Gallagher Premiership, but Baxter is confident the Scotland and two-time British Lions tourist will be able to take everything in his stride.
"I like to think having quality players available are what allow you to move on more than anything else," he said. "We're delighted to have Stuart here with us. His attitude has been fantastic from minute one. He was texting me not long after the World Cup game again Japan, letting me know what his plans were, and that he wanted to get straight into training with us.
"He arrived last week, he did an initial screening at the club on Friday, he was in again on the Saturday, and now he's had a full week of training with us, so he's pretty much up to speed and desperate to go. When you have someone like that, it's kind of hard to leave a guy of his quality out."
On the bench, there is also a welcome return to the first-team fold for scrum-half Stuart Townsend, who will be hoping to get his first competitive action since injuring his knee against Gloucester in the Heineken Champions Cup last December.
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE BATH
15 Stuart Hogg
14 Tom O'Flaherty
13 Ian Whitten
12 Sam Hill
11 Alex Cuthbert
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Jack Maunder
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Harry Williams
4 Dave Dennis
5 Jonny Hill
6 Dave Ewers
7 Jacques Vermeulen
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Elvis Taione
17 Alec Hepburn
18 Marcus Street
19 Jannes Kirsten
20 Matt Kvesic
21 Stu Townsend
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Tom Hendrickson
