Chiefs side to face Glasgow Warriors
Exeter Chiefs will have a new look to their line-up as they prepare to resume Heineken Cup action at home to Glasgow Warriors tomorrow (3pm).
Just days after slipping to a narrow 19-16 defeat to London Wasps in the Aviva Premiership, head coach Rob Baxter has shuffled his pack as the Devon club look to keep alive their European dreams for another week at least.
Just four players - Tom Johnson, Henry Slade and Luke Arscott - remain in the starting line-up from that which took to the field from the outset at Adams Park last Sunday.
However, it shows the array of riches Baxter has at it his disposal that he is able to make such wholesale changes and still be able to field a formidable looking line-up for that of the visiting Scotsmen to Sandy Park.
The Warriors - as Baxter is well aware - will be tough foes to overcome, particularly as they have twice overcome their hosts this season. The first victory came back in late August when they headed home from the Westcountry with a 29-26 pre-season friendly victory - and they followed that up by securing their only Heineken Cup win of the season so far when they triumphed 20-16 at Scotstoun in October.
It is little wonder that the Chiefs leader is wary of the threat posed by their rivals. He said: "It's a big challenge for us. The Heineken Cup is the premier comp in Europe and we feel we have done quite well in it so far this season, but without getting the results we would have liked. It's therefore important for us to put in a good performance at home that not only gets us back to winning ways, but at the same time keeps alive our hopes of advancing in the competition.
"Reviewing them this week, it's clear they play good rugby and that they have threats all over the park, particularly in their back three where they like to attack at every opportunity. They're also an interesting side to defend against because they like to play multi-directional rugby, a bit like ourselves, and they are very confrontational, especially around the breakdown. They caused us a few problems in that area up in Glasgow and I am sure those will be areas that they will attack us in again.
"That said, we have freshened up the squad a little bit this week, the players have trained well and you can see they are fresh and very enthusiastic about getting out there and hopefully taking part in a very good game."
In what has been a testing run of games for the Chiefs, Baxter hopes a return to home comforts will help to reignite the winning spark within his side. He continued: "First and foremost we have to concentrate on ourselves. It's nice in some ways to have a break from the Premiership because having these different cup competitions allows us to get our teeth sunk into something else. In turn it will also help get ourselves well prepped for our return to the Premiership."
With qualification into the latter stages of the Heineken Cup unlikely for the Chiefs, Baxter knows a victory this weekend and next against Cardiff Blues could be enough to see his side qualify for the latter stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup as one of the best runners-up from Europe's top cup competition.
"If we can bang in a couple of wins then the opportunity is possibly there for us still to qualify in the Amlin," said Baxter. "In some ways qualifying for the latter stages of the Amlin through the Heineken would be a bigger achievement than if you qualified normally through the competition. As I said, there is still a lot to play for and the important thing is this group of players go out and perform well. If you do that then whatever happens after that you just have to take on the chin.
"It's a little bit like last week in that respect, you get frustrated by the odd thing, but sometimes let’s get out there and deserve to get the result."
15 Luke Arscott (capt)
14 Fetu'u Vainikolo
13 Sireli Naqelevuki
12 Sam Hill
11 Matt Jess
10 Henry Slade
9 Dave Lewis
1 Carl Rimmer
2 Luke Cowan-Dickie
3 Alex Brown
4 Damian Welch
5 James Hanks
6 Tom Johnson
7 James Scaysbrook
8 Kai Horstmann
16 Greg Bateman
17 Ben Moon
18 Lloyd Fairbrother
19 Romana Graham
20 Don Armand
21 Will Chudley
22 Ceri Sweeney
23 Ian Whitten
Pictures: Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency
