Chiefs side to face Toulon

Rob Baxter believes his Exeter Chiefs side have learnt plenty in the aftermath of their narrow Heineken Cup defeat at home to holders RC Toulon last weekend.

Just days after that 14-9 loss at a packed Sandy Park, Baxter sends his troops back into battle against the star-studded French outfit tomorrow knowing that his team are certainly capable of claiming their biggest-ever scalp.

For long periods last Saturday, Devon’s finest more than held their own against a Toulon squad, which included 825 international caps and was led on the field by England World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson.

However, a late Wilkinson drop-goal, plus a second half penalty from Aussie centre Matt Giteau, proved sufficient enough for the Frenchmen to overcome a 9-8 deficit and reclaim their place at the top of Pool Two. The Chiefs, though, are just three points behind Toulon in the standings and know a victory across the Channel this weekend will not only reignite their hopes of qualification, but at the same time throw wide open the group after four rounds.

“We are looking forward to it because we always like heading over to France,” said Baxter.

“One thing I know is when we head off on Friday morning the excitement will generally build right across the group. We always have a good evening before the game when we go to the ground and have a walk around because that when you really begin to feel it’s going to be a special occasion.

“Going to Toulon, it’s a fantastic place to go and play. However, what we have to do is make sure we go over there and put in a big performance because there is still a lot for us to play for in Heineken Cup.

“We want to go there and play in a way that shows we’re not afraid to win and that we can challenge Toulon in every way possible. We did that well at the weekend, without quite finishing things off, but now we have to go over there and be noticably better than we were last weekend.”

Despite recent results, both in Europe and in the Premiership, the Chiefs have shown they are capable of tackling some of the biggest club names in rugby and Baxter is confident that the time is not too far away when Exeter will start to fully prosper.

“We are a good side that keeps striving to be that little bit better,” he added. “We are working to be better and somewhere down the line the big games are going to come our way. That’s the challenge for us and the one that you have to be prepared to face. I think we do that well and have done so now for a number of seasons, where we look for gradual and continued improvement, so that one day we want to be involved in big games and coming out the other side.

“That’s part of it for us in the long term and last weekend was a big learning experience for a lot of our players. I think if you actually go through the sides there were a few players on our part who in some ways that was man for man the toughest opposition that they would have played against. I’ve no doubt they should have learnt a great deal from the experience, but now we have to push through that and start to learn that maybe we can overcome that opposition and the challenge they bring.”

As mentioned, Baxter knows a victory at the Stade Mayol is vital for his side’s long-term prospects in the competition and hopes the near travelling Chiefs Tribe will play their part in helping his side’s quest for victory.

“What you have to do is try and keep everything in your hands for as long as possible,” explained Baxter.

“The reality for us is that if we lose again qualification slips out of our hands, so I think we have to keep things exciting and in our hands for as long as possible. We maybe let an opportunity slip here last week, but if we get an opportunity this week we can’t afford to let it slip this time. “Having the backing of our fans over there will be fantastic. It’s brilliant when your hear the Tomahawk Chop in the stands because sometime you wonder just how they make so much noise.

“At the same time, though, this is kind of what the whole journey has been about for us. It’s gradually moving forward and achieving new things for not only our players, but also our supporters to experience. This is what it is all about and I’m delighted we have so many fans going over. We have worked hard for this to happen and when opportunities like this come along, you kind of have to make the most of them.”

Team news for the Chiefs ahead of kick-off is that Baxter has made six changes to his starting XV from that of a week ago.

Two of the alterations see James Hanks and Don Armand come in for Damian Welch and Ben White; whilst behind Haydn Thomas and Henry Slade (pictured) form a new half-back partnership, Tom James starts on the left wing ahead of Matt Jess and Ian Whitten is preferred to Jason Shoemark in the centre. It means first European starts for Armand, James and Slade, the latter of whom replaces the injured Gareth Steenson.

The Irishman has failed to recover fully from a heavy Mathieu Basteraud hit sustained last weekend, so Slade is elevated from the bench and his place on the sidelines is filled by Ceri Sweeney, who is joined by Will Chudley and Sam Hill in the other changes from last time out.

Chiefs side to face RC Toulon: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Phil Dollman, 11 Tom James, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Haydn Thomas, 1 Ben Moon, 2 Jack Yeandle, 3 Hoani Tui, 4 Dean Mumm (capt), 5 James Hanks, 6 Tom Johnson, 7 Don Armand, 8 Dave Ewers, 16 Chris Whitehead, 17 Brett Sturgess, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Ben White, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Sam Hill.

Pictures: Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency