Exeter Chiefs side to face Falcons
Exeter Chiefs may be odds-on with the bookmakers to clock up their fourth Aviva Premiership victory of the season at Newcastle Falcons this Sunday, but head coach Rob Baxter doesn’t quite see as simple as that.
Winless in their last 20 top flight games, the Chiefs head honcho insists the Falcons have little to lose and everything to gain ahead of his side’s latest trip to Kingston Park (3pm).
Such a pre-match warning is certainly creditable from Baxter, who will figure in his 500th league game as either an Exeter player or coach this weekend. However, at the same time his troops will arrive for battle buoyed not only by last weekend’s 36-13 win at home to Harlequins, but also by the fact they have made an encouraging start to the new campaign.
“Every game we have played this season has looked winnable because we have been on good form,” said Baxter. “But I think the big issue with this game - and I know people will say there is pressure on Newcastle because they are near the bottom of the table - but is there really any pressure on a team that has lost 19, 20 games?
“Not really, simply because you can go and play because no one is expecting a different result. You can go out and put in one of those big emotional performances and you can celebrate having your first win in a long time, that’s the danger with them. Very few teams go on losing runs forever and I think the danger is you don’t want to be the team that chances that.
“They have changed their game as they said they would and they have broaden their threatening game, so we have to be very aware because in some ways they bring more threats than what Harlequins did last week. I know that sound strange, but the way they play and the way we defended, we snuffed out some key individuals for them. On Sunday we are going to be attacked in a different way, so we have to be just as focused on the way they attack and be just as physical.”
In what was an impressive display from the Chiefs last time out, tries from Thomas Waldrom, Jack Yeandle and Henry Slade laid the foundations for the victory, whilst the ever-reliable Gareth Steenson and Slade weighed in with the remainder of the points.
More of the same will be required from the Chiefs on Newcastle’s new 4G surface which, sadly, rules England international Jack Nowell out of contention this weekend. Having only just returned to the fray following months on the sidelines, Exeter’s medical team do not want to risk the winger’s long-term health by getting him to run on the synthetic surface.
His absence is one of several changes Baxter has made to his winning formula from that which saw off Harlequins a week ago. Welsh international Tom James replaces Nowell on the wing, whilst other changes see Ian Whitten come into the centre in place of Sam Hill and Don Armand gets his first start of the season in the second row ahead of of Mitch Lees.
On the bench, Hill is joined by Namibian international Chrysander Botha and Haydn Thomas, whilst Irish lock Ryan Caldwell is also back in the mix having missed out last week due to a rib injury.
With personnel all in place, Baxter is now hoping his squad can pick up from where they left off against Conor O’Shea’s side last Sunday.
“The mental challenge of any sport is a massive part of things, so what is out motivation?” asked Baxter.
“Our motivation at the start was probably to get some points on the board and perhaps prove a few people wrong who thought we were a side in decline. We knew that was never the case and we felt confident, but now it’s different because we have had a good, solid start to the season.
“I guess our motivation now is what we can see in the future - and that’s winning games of rugby and collecting points - so it makes this first block very exciting for us, I’d like to think the players’ motivation is that they see us in fourth, they see some tough games ahead for the teams above us, so there is huge motivation for them to go out and collect points and move up the table.
“What I hope, what I expect and what I demand of the players this weekend is that our motivation to get further up the table is more than Newcastle wanting to get away from the bottom, so that is very much the battle for us.”
Baxter added: “For us last week was just the result we wanted. Obviously we were aware a lot of people were talking about how few home games we had won in the last six or seven games, so it was very important not to just get a home win, but it was against one of the higher ranked teams.
“To play as we did and carry out the game plan in such a manner was very pleasing for all of us. Now, we have to go again this weekend and put in another high level performance which, we hope, will be enough to beat what will be a tough Newcastle side.”
Chiefs team to face Newcastle Falcons:
15 Phil Dollman
14 Tom James
13 Henry Slade
12 Ian Whitten
11 Matt Jess
10 Gareth Steenson
9 Will Chudley
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Tomas Francis
4 Don Armand
5 Damian Welch
6 Dave Ewers
7 Ben White
8 Thomas Waldrom
16 Elvis Taione
17 Carl Rimmer
18 Moray Low
19 Ryan Caldwell
20 Kai Horstmann
21 Haydn Thomas
22 Sam Hill
23 Chrysander Botha
