Newcastle v Exeter Chiefs Match Preview

Rob Baxter is confident his Exeter Chiefs side can beat Newcastle Falcons on Sunday (3pm)

The Aviva Premiership champions produced a powerful second half masterclass to see off Leicester Tigers 30-6 at Sandy Park on New Years Eve. The bonus point victory meant they will start 2018 ten points clear behind second place Saracens.

Rob Baxter, Director Of Rugby at the Chiefs, says his side can't afford to let their standards drop at Kingston Park and has called on his players to continue to drive home their high standards.
 

Like the Chiefs, Newcastle are in fine form, winning their last five fixtures in all competitions. With a note of caution, Baxter told the club's website not to take them lightly.

“When you look at Newcastle, they have spent enough time together as a group to feel very comfortable in what they do,” said Baxter. “The biggest thing I see when I look at them closely is that they stick at it and each player knows their role. That in turn allows them to be competitive against most side over course of 80 minutes. 

“That is something we like to pride ourselves on, we too have a core group of players who know how we want to play, are prepared to stick at it over 80 minutes, and often that brings you good rewards. We know it will be a tough challenge for us, they are going well at the moment, and their last home game again Harlequins was very productive for them.”

The Exeter boss also dismissed talk of rival clubs Wasps and Saracens, who play each other this weekend, potentially knocking points off one another.

“The important thing is not to look around and try and second guess what others are doing,” added Baxter. “Simply because as soon as you do that, you lose track of what you want to do. We talk all the time about the day by day stuff which has brought us the points. We don’t want to find reasons why we want to lose, we want to find drivers for why we want to win and why we want to play well."

Injuries sustained in the Leicester win deprive Baxter of England trio Harry Williams (concussion), Luke Cowan-Dickie (hip) and Jack Nowell (ankle), but the Chiefs boss said all three were not long-term concerns and that he was hopeful they would be available again soon.

“I’m comfortable with the squad and how it’s performing each week,” said Baxter. “Yes, we are rotating players across the squad, but that’s what you kind of have to do. It’s not my job to keep them all happy, my job is to be fair and say the opportunities are there, but they have to be created by the players themselves."