Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter insists his side are not going into their shells ahead of facing a Springbok-laden Sharks side in their opening Investec Champions Cup clash this weekend.
The Devonians head to Durban off the back of yet another Premiership defeat to table-topping Bath and now prepare for a fresh test against the South African outfit, who sit sixth in the URC after the opening six rounds.
“We look like we’re getting ready to play some rugby”
Speaking to the media ahead of his side’s clash with the Sharks this weekend, Baxter said his side are ‘getting excited’ by the prospect of facing such a high-quality outfit, and believes they are simply ‘getting ready to play some rugby’.
“I think we’re facing up to it by getting excited about it. I haven’t seen anything in training or anything in their body language or moving about the place that says to me they’re not going to get out there and give it everything they’ve got.”
He added: “We don’t look like we’re getting ready to go into our shells, we look like we’re getting ready to play some rugby.”
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Baxter also called on his side to ‘maximise’ their opportunities this weekend when the game swings in their favour.
“That’s what we want them to do, that’s what we talked about this week and it’s how we prepared. We did a session on Monday before we left the club, and all the chat was about how we could create something from this game that was positive for us, and that’s what we’ve got to do. Every game has ebbs and flows in it, and we need to maximise ours,” he explained
“If you can create patches in a game, it’s funny how a couple of scores can come quickly and the whole situation can change. We saw that a little bit at Bath last week, we were under pressure but then we were leading the game at half-time, so it just shows you those moments come in a game.”
“We think we’ll get our patches in the game, but our challenge is if we can work hard enough through all of the game to create as many as we can. If we play.”
The experienced coach also said his side cannot ‘live in fear’ of what the Sharks will do to them.
“We’ve got to play with positivity, not play with a fear of what they may do. We got to make the game about us as much as we can and that’ll give us an opportunity to get something out of the game, whatever way it breaks.”
Change of focus?
Exeter currently find themselves bottom of the Premiership after losing all seven games of the campaign to date, but it seems the cup competitions is bringing out the best in them.
Baxter’s men currently sit top of their pool in the Premiership Cup, with three wins from three over Cornish Pirates, Hartpury and Gloucester and also boast a mammoth total of 153 points from their three fixtures – an average of 51 points per game.
The Chiefs also have a decent record in the Champions Cup. They won the competition back in 2020, as part of a historic double, and also reached the semi-finals during the 2021/2022 season, falling to eventual champions La Rochelle.
Only time will tell if they can turn their fortunes around in the coming weeks, but this is a huge opportunity to reignite their season.
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://rugga.co.za/uncategorised/rob-baxter-exeter-chiefs-will-not-play-with-a-fear-of-springboks-laden-sharks/
