Struggling Chiefs lack Lions bite

Baxter missing key men

ROB BAXTER is refusing to panic, despite seeing his Exeter Chiefs side go down to a second successive Premiership defeat.

Having played i n the last six Premiership finals and won two of them, the Chiefs have become used to dining at the top table of the English game. Now they find themselves at the bottom end of the table.

But while things might get a little bit worse at Sale Sharks this weekend, Baxter knows things will get better in the long run, especially when his five British & Irish Lions return along with a host of injured senior players.

‘We’re making too many errors but we’ve lost a game by two points to a team who won last week and should have come here with the ambition to win again,’ said Baxter.

‘We have to up the quality and quantity of what we are doing and that will add up to victories. You win lots of little parts of the game and you win the game. Lose them and you lose it, so we’ve got to flip the balance.’

When you are missing Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill, Sam Simmonds, Stuart Hogg and

Jack Nowell, all Lions, Jonny

Gray, Dave Ewers and Jacques Vermeulen, life can be difficult. But there is light at the end of the tunnel with some of the Lions ready to return for the Worcester Warriors game.

In the meantime, coaches from other teams are going to take as much advantage as they can. Saints boss Chris Boyd was more than happy to take away four points but realistic enough to know that it could have been a very different result against a full-strength Chiefs outfit.

‘I feel for Rob and his boys. It is a tough way to start a season with a number of players coming back from injury and others unavailable,’ said Boyd. ‘But we’re still pleased to have come here and got the win.’

The home side raced into a 14point lead with two tries in as many minutes. Don Armand burrowed over for the first and then Jack Maunder pounded for the second. Joe Simmonds converted them both.

Back came the Saints with two tries of their own, Alex Mitchell following up a kick ahead by his half-back partner James Grayson to score the first and then Matt Proctor splitting the home defence with ease for the second.

Grayson improved both and then kicked his side into the lead with a penalty. The fightback was well and truly on and not even a Rus Tuima try on the stroke of half-time that edged the Chiefs in front 21-17 at the break dented their ambition.

Simmonds and Grayson swapped second-half penalties before Furbank stepped into the front line goalkicking role after Grayson’s departure. He measured up pretty well with two inch-perfect penalties to that secured another win.

NEWCASTLE comfortably beat Bath 20-13 at The Rec. Adam Radwan, Iwan Stephens and George McGuigan put them 20-3 ahead at half-time. Max Ojomoh went over for the home side with nine minutes to go, but it was too little, too late.