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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Baxter writes off Exeter's worst-ever season
Rob Baxter has been in charge of Exeter since 2009, leading Premiership and European titles [Getty Images] Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he will not refer to his side's worst-ever season again. The Chiefs' lost 30-26 at home to third-placed Sale in their final Premiership game of the season. The loss - which was an improved performance on some games this season - saw Exeter end in a club-worst ninth position in the top flight after just four wins all season. Advertisement It ends a difficult campaign for Exeter which has seen the club dispense with three coaches and suffer a record 79-17 loss at Gloucester a month ago. "I'm not going to refer to this season at all," Baxter told BBC Sport when asked about his plans for the next campaign. "What I'm going to refer to is my expectations of them going forward. "All I've referred to in the last three or four weeks is that my expectations of them are higher than their expectations of themselves are. "I'm not going to lower my expectations, so they have to raise theirs, and if they catch up with me they'll be winning trophies and they'll be winning in Europe and they'll be doing all the things that they could do." Advertisement Baxter has taken a more hands-on role coaching the side since long-serving assistants Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher were dismissed after the defeat at Gloucester. That loss was the nadir of a season which saw Exeter lose all four of their European games and win just four league matches - two of them against Saracens and Northampton who were without many of their international stars. But in recent weeks Exeter have improved and had chances to win the game, against a Sale side who knew victory would secure a fourth play-off campaign in the past five seasons. "A lot of teams need a dedicated start point - that Gloucester game was a dedicated start point for us," Baxter added. Advertisement "No player can come into my office when I'm talking to them and go 'everything was fine, I don't know why we're reacting'. "You need that sometimes, you don't need anybody having any second doubts that what's on the field isn't good enough. "We had that and now things are changing, and you can feel a change. But I think we probably needed that and we needed someone to go 'this is not good enough, things have to change' and that's what's happened."
BBC News
13 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Baxter writes off Exeter's worst-ever season
Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he will not refer to his side's worst-ever season Chiefs' lost 30-26 at home to third-placed Sale in their final Premiership game of the loss - which was an improved performance on some games this season - saw Exeter end in a club-worst ninth position in the top flight after just four wins all ends a difficult campaign for Exeter which has seen the club dispense with three coaches and suffer a record 79-17 loss at Gloucester a month ago."I'm not going to refer to this season at all," Baxter told BBC Sport when asked about his plans for the next campaign."What I'm going to refer to is my expectations of them going forward."All I've referred to in the last three or four weeks is that my expectations of them are higher than their expectations of themselves are."I'm not going to lower my expectations, so they have to raise theirs, and if they catch up with me they'll be winning trophies and they'll be winning in Europe and they'll be doing all the things that they could do." Baxter has taken a more hands-on role coaching the side since long-serving assistants Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher were dismissed after the defeat at loss was the nadir of a season which saw Exeter lose all four of their European games and win just four league matches - two of them against Saracens and Northampton who were without many of their international stars. But in recent weeks Exeter have improved and had chances to win the game, against a Sale side who knew victory would secure a fourth play-off campaign in the past five seasons. "A lot of teams need a dedicated start point - that Gloucester game was a dedicated start point for us," Baxter added."No player can come into my office when I'm talking to them and go 'everything was fine, I don't know why we're reacting'."You need that sometimes, you don't need anybody having any second doubts that what's on the field isn't good enough."We had that and now things are changing, and you can feel a change. But I think we probably needed that and we needed someone to go 'this is not good enough, things have to change' and that's what's happened."
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Sale Sharks channel Rudyard Kipling to edge into Premiership play-offs
Exeter Chiefs 26 Sale Sharks 30 It is not every day a rugby coach wraps up a post-match interview by quoting Rudyard Kipling – but then again Alex Sanderson isn't your average touchline presence. Reflecting on Sale Sharks ' gritty final-day triumph over Exeter Chiefs, the Sharks boss reached for the poet's timeless wisdom, to 'keep your head, when everybody else is losing theirs' to sum up his side's resolve under pressure. The 30-26 victory not only secured third place in the Gallagher Premiership table, but also ensured Sale will march into next week's semi-final showdown with Leicester Tigers brimming with belief and momentum. 'Things are coming together at the right time,' said Sanderson. 'Some of it is intentional, some of it is luck, but you need a bit of that if you want to do things that leave a mark. For us, we've got some of our best players, hitting their best form, at just the right time. 'We're expecting a test for sure. Leicester have one of the best defences in the league, really strong set-piece, good kicking game. [Michael] Cheika is canny, he's smart, and looking at today there are areas, especially around the breakdown, that we will need to be better at. 'I've no doubt they'll use the crowd, 20,000 to motivate their group. But we were there three weeks ago and there were some lessons you can't learn getting knocked out in the semi. We now have the opportunity to put those right, so Saturday is about putting things right that we reviewed.' The Sharks were given a decent test ahead of their final four showdown by a Chiefs side, who will be glad to put the lid on a dismal season, one in which they finished ninth, their lowest-ever return in the top-flight. 'The game today was brilliant, it was physical, back and forth, some really good running in there from Exeter,' added Sanderson. 'You have to go through those moments when it's 23-19 or 30-26, it readies you, it arms you for games like the semi-final and the final, which are all close. 'So if you can keep your head, when everybody else is losing theirs, I think that's the old Rudyard Kipling poem, you're in such a better place on the back of that knowing what we can fix from the Leicester game and what we can do better from today.' Not that the Sharks will have to tinker too much with their plan. Playmaker George Ford delivered an on-field masterclass for the visitors, producing a flawless kicking display, as well as a steadying hand, even at the toughest of times. He set his side on their way to victory with a penalty inside two minutes – and he would add two more during the course of the contest, as well as successful conversions to tries from Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Bevan Rodd and Luke Cowan-Dickie. In reply, the Chiefs – who trailed 20-5 at the break – showed a glimpse into the future in a much-improved second half display. Tries from the impressive Josh Hodge, Will Haydon-Wood and Richard Capstick kept them competitive until the death, this after winger Paul Brown-Bampoe had raced over in a rare moment of joy in the first period. Match details Scoring sequence: Ford pen (0-3), Brown-Bampoe try (5-3), Ford pen (5-6), Ma'asi-White try (5-11), Ford con (5-13), Rodd try (5-18), Ford con (5-20), Hodge try (10-20), Hodge con (12-20), Ford pen (12-23), Haydon-Wood try (17-23), Hodge con (19-23), Cowan-Dickie (19-28), Ford con (19-30), Capstick try (24-30), Hodge con (26-30) Exeter Chiefs: Josh Hodge; Paul Brown-Bampoe (Ross Vintcent 40), Henry Slade, Tamati Tua, Tommy Wyatt (Will Haydon-Wood 20); Harvey Skinner, Stu Townsend; Kwenzo Blose (Scott Sio 57), Jack Yeandle (c, Dan Frost 57)), Josh Iosefa-Scott (Jimmy Roots 57); Rusi Tuima (Christ Tshiunza 65), Franco Molina; Jacques Vermeulen (Martin Moloney 65), Richard Capstick, Ethan Roots. Replacement: (not used): Tom Cairns Yellow Car d: E Roots Sale Sharks: Joe Carpenter (Luke James 71); Tom O'Flaherty, Rob du Preez, Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Arron Reed (Alex Wills 74); George Ford, Raffi Quirke (Gus Warr 58); Bevan Rodd (Simon McIntyre 57), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Tadgh McElroy 71), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (WillGriff John 57); Ernst van Rhyn, Jonny Hill (Ben Bamber 71); JL du Preez, Ben Curry (c), Dan du Preez (Sam Dugdale 50). Yellow Cards: Ma'asi-White, Warr Referee: C Ridley Attendance: 9,897
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sale hang on to beat Exeter and reach play-offs
Bevan Rodd (left) scored his sixth try of the season as Sale made the play-offs for the fourth time in five years [Rex Features] Gallagher Premiership Exeter (5) 26 Tries: Brown-Bampoe, Hodge, Haydon-Wood, Capstick Cons: Hodge 3 Sale (20) 30 Tries: Ma'asi-White, Rodd, Cowan-Dickie Cons: Ford 3 Pens: Ford 3 Sale secured third place in the Premiership and a play-off semi-final at Leicester with a 30-26 victory over Exeter in a tense encounter at Sandy Park. Paul Brown-Bampoe's 20th-minute try briefly put the home side in front before Sale's superb attack kicked into gear as Rekeiti Ma'asi-White and Bevan Rodd went under the posts to help give Sharks a 20-5 lead at the break. Advertisement Josh Hodge pulled a try back for the hosts soon after the restart and, when Will Haydon-Wood cut the gap to four points Sale looked worried. Dan Frost had a fourth Exeter try disallowed for a knock on with 18 minutes left, but former Chiefs favourite Luke Cowan-Dickie forced his way over with 12 minutes left to seal victory for Sale. Richard Capstick got a fourth try for Exeter with three minutes left to set up a tense finish as the hosts ended the season with two losing bonus points. The win ensured Sale finish third in the table after second-placed Leicester beat bottom side Newcastle at home - ensuring a trip to Welford Road for the Sharks in next week's semi-finals. Advertisement An indisciplined start cost Exeter as George Ford kicked a first-minute penalty for Sale before they gave up possession a couple of metres from the Sharks line having had the better of the early play. Brown-Bampoe capped a flowing Exeter passing move to get the first try midway through the first half - although the unconverted score came at a cost as recently fit-again back Tommy Wyatt limped off having been hurt in the build-up. Ford's second penalty a minute later saw Sale retake the lead before Ma'asi-White capped off a superb passing sequence to go under the posts as Exeter struggled to defend against Sale's excellent offloading. It was more of the same eight minutes later as Rodd was the beneficiary after Ford and Arron Reed combined to create the gap for the Sale loose-head to score. Advertisement And it got worse for the home side when Ethan Roots was sin-binned shortly before the break for bringing down a maul, but despite being a man down they started the second half impressively. Exeter fightback falls just short Persistent pressure eventually told as Ma'asi-White was sin-binned after a number of penalties on the Sale line and soon after Hodge went over in the right corner as Exeter exploited the extra space. A third Ford penalty soon after calmed Sale's nerves with less than 30 minutes to play, but Haydon-Wood rounded off Exeter's best attacking move of the afternoon, Hodge and Henry Slade linked up to put the replacement over. Advertisement Exeter thought they had taken the lead five minutes later when Frost was forced over, but replays showed he had lost control off the ball as he dived over the line. Sale regained their composure and their double-digit advantage with 12 minutes to go as Cowan-Dickie forced his way over from close range. Sale missed out on a fourth try six minutes later when Gus Warr was sin-binned after replays showed a dangerous tackle in the build-up to a try from Reed, while from the resulting line-out penalty Exeter replacement Jimmy Roots was held up over the Sale line. But Exeter did get a fifth try when Capstick ran in after Slade and Tamati Tua combined. Advertisement Exeter: Hodge; Brown-Bampoe, Slade, Tua, Wyatt; Skinner, Townsend; Blose, Yeandle (capt), Iosefa-Scott, Tuima, Molina, Vermeulen, Capstick, Roots Replacements: Frost, Sio, Roots, Tshiunza, Moloney, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, Vintcent Yellow card: Roots (39) Sale: Carpenter; O'Flaherty, R du Preez, Ma'asi-White, Reed; Ford, Quirke; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Van Rhyn, Hill, J-L du Preez, B Curry (capt), D du Preez. Replacements: McElroy, McIntyre, John, Bamber, Dugdale, Warr, James, Wills. Yellow card: Ma'asi-White (47), Warr (74) Referee: Christophe Ridley
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Sale hang on to beat Exeter and reach play-offs
Gallagher PremiershipExeter (5) 26Tries: Brown-Bampoe, Hodge, Haydon-Wood, Capstick Cons: Hodge 3 Sale (20) 30Tries: Maasi-White, Rodd, Cowan-Dickie Cons: Ford 3 Pens: Ford 3 Sale secured third place in the Premiership and a play-off semi-final at Leicester with a 30-26 victory over Exeter in a tense encounter at Sandy Brown Bampoe's 20th-minute try briefly put the home side in front before Sale's superb attack kicked into gear as Rekeiti Maasi-White and Bevan Rodd went under the posts to give Sharks a 20-5 lead at the break. Josh Hodge pulled a try back for the hosts soon after the restart and, when Will Haydon-Wood cut the gap to four points Sale looked worried. Dan Frost had a fourth Exeter try disallowed for a knock on with 18 minutes left, but former Chiefs favourite Luke Cowan Dickie forced his way over with 12 minutes left to seal victory for Sale. Richard Capstick got a fourth try for Exeter with three minutes left to set up a tense finish as the hosts ended the season with two losing bonus win ensured Sale finish third in the table after second-placed Leicester beat bottom side Newcastle at home - ensuring a trip to Welford Road for the Sharks in next week's semi-finals. Exeter: Hodge; Brown-Bampoe, Slade, Tua, Wyatt; Skinner, Townsend; Blose, Yeandle (capt), Iosefa-Scott, Tuima, Molina, Vermeulen, Capstick, RootsReplacements: Frost, Sio, Roots, Tshiunza, Moloney, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, VintcentYellow card: Roots (39)Sale: Carpenter; O'Flaherty, R du Preez, Ma'asi-White Reed; Ford, Quirke; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, van Rhyn, Hill, J-L du Preez, B Curry (capt), D du McElroy, McIntyre, John, Bamber, Dugdale, Warr, James, card: Ma'asi-White (47), Warr (74)Referee: Christophe Ridley
