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Sometimes there is just one acceptable outcome and, from Exeter’s perspective, this victory was the absolute minimum requirement. Had the Chiefs been beaten by what was almost Northampton’s third team, having folded embarrassingly at Gloucester last time out, the sound of teeth being gnashed would have been heard from Totnes to Tiverton.
Not that Rob Baxter, now back in a more hands-on role following the removal of two of his senior coaches, sounded the least bit triumphal. He had been seeking a witheringly physical, no-nonsense response to the Kingsholm drubbing but made it crystal clear later that standards had to rise significantly on and off the field if the Chiefs want to revisit the sunlit uplands of English club rugby.
Despite the lopsided final scoreline, Baxter’s side struggled to string together more than four consecutive phases in the first 40 minutes and this summer is set to involve plenty of brutal honesty. “I am not going to give the lads an easy way out and say, ‘Well done, five-point win, hallelujah, all our problems are solved,’” Baxter warned. “I have gone in there and said: ‘Guys, that is a regulation win against a Premiership second team and we have a lot to work on.’
“We have to get back to the core fundamental strengths we built the team on. That we don’t beat ourselves first. If you don’t beat yourself it takes a good team to beat you. We are beating ourselves in so many areas of the game at the moment that we have got to change that.”
While Northampton’s youthful mix-and-match selection, with six Premiership debutants in their matchday 23, deserved credit for hanging in there, Baxter’s players were their own worst enemies at times, despite a simplified gameplan and a ton of pent-up motivation. It took them almost an hour to get a proper grip of an often bang-average contest and Baxter is now promising a root-and-branch review this summer. “I’ll do it myself. And I’ll get it right. Then, next season, it’ll be on me if it’s not. By the time we start pre‑season, I will have reviewed every bit: strength and conditioning, physio, everything. And, if it’s not absolutely top notch, we’ll be changing it.
“They’re professional rugby players, I expect more from them. I’ve told them they’re going to hear the same message from me until these things change. There are things that aren’t acceptable. Professional rugby players do need to be able to pass the ball to someone who’s five metres away. That is not being harsh on a player. That’s an expectation they should have of each other. It shouldn’t be me having to enforce that but at the moment it’s going to be.”
Scant room for misinterpretation there. Baxter had already acknowledged before kick-off that the home fans needed to have some faith restored and there are a few glimmers of hope on the horizon. Nick Lilley is one of a clutch of England age-group players with big dreams and here, on his debut, the 19-year-old University of Exeter student enjoyed the rare thrill of a try on his debut.
Paul Brown-Bampoe, on the other wing, has also been a revelation this season, his pace and agility once again underlined in the first quarter as he burst clear and weaved past the cover. A second try four minutes from the end was his 20th in all competitions this season and he could yet be a contender for a place on England’s summer tour.
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There was also an interception try for Harvey Skinner, a bonus-point try secured by the forceful Martin Moloney and a second try for Skinner in the closing moments but the meagre crowd of less than 9,000 was arguably a more accurate sign of the times.
Winning the doubters back is yet another battle the Chiefs will need to win as they seek to make up lost ground on multiple fronts. Also conspicuous by their absence were Exeter’s erstwhile coaches Ali Hepher and Rob Hunter, both unceremoniously relieved of their duties following the Gloucester debacle. Hunter has officially left the club but Hepher is still technically suspended, with Exeter’s plan to unveil Dave Walder still on hold as a direct consequence. Given that Hepher and Hunter both helped to mastermind the Champions Cup and Premiership winning campaign of 2020, it has been no minor upheaval.
Saints, for their part, scored two tries through Jake Garside and Tom Lockett and might have had a third if one of their new faces, Rafe Witheat, had clung on a high pass in the left corner. There was also a Premiership debut for the strapping Reuben Logan, son of Kenny and Gabby. Their star players, though, all had their feet up before their meeting with Bordeaux on Saturday week in the Champions Cup final, a competition won by the Exeter less than five years ago. Baxter’s current underachievers, however, can now expect to be taken to a much darker place this summer.
