Exeter Chiefs: An Honest Progression

In all of the excitement around the final pool matches of the Heineken Cup at the weekend, a significant result for a small club from the South West of England may have gone unnoticed. For those who are unaware Exeter Chiefs beat Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais, better known simply as Perpignan, by thirty-one points to fourteen, to win their pool and progress to the quarter finals of Amlin Challenge Cup.

Whilst this tournament may be considered the ugly stepsister to the Cinderella magic of the Heineken Cup, the achievement of the Chiefs in reaching the last eight should not be underestimated. Having been drawn in a pool with USAP and the RaboDirect Pro 12's only entrants, Newport Gwent Dragons, the Chiefs were given scant chance by most pundits and every bookmaker around of topping the pool. With qualification for next seasons Heineken Cup unlikely for either the French or Welsh sides through their league positions, their most realistic hope of returning to the top table in Europe was winning the Amlin. As such the Chiefs would need to go some to progress from arguably the toughest pool in the competition.

So the question is, given the frequent and ever increasing murmurings from numerous Aviva Premiership head coaches about salary caps, and how the English teams are hamstrung in Europe as a result, how have they achieved this relative success? You have to remember that less than two seasons ago this was a team plying their trade in the second tier of English domestic rugby.

They have precious few 'star turns' amongst their squad, with Tom Johnson the only inclusion amongst the 64 players selected by Stuart Lancaster for England's current elite squads, and their style of play appears to be a simple one. They ensure that their basics are correct, and work hard, and if that does not work, they simply work harder again. Their on field style, is a clear reflection of one of the two men who have been instrumental in them finding themselves where they are today, head coach Rob Baxter. Whilst chairman Tony Rowe must take a lot of credit for the off field decisions that have been taken, it is Baxter who has produced a side capable of competing against whatever is thrown at them.

He is clearly a very intelligent and honest man, as reflected in his side, but beyond that he appears to have a rare and special talent, and that is the ability to get the best from players, indeed sometimes more than they even knew they could give. There are players a plenty within the squad, who have tried and failed at other clubs, yet as part of the Chiefs line up do not look out of place competing against the top international players that other sides bring to Sandy Park. His honesty clearly plays a key part in extracting performances from his players, but it is the realistic targets that he sets for them, and his assessments of their achievements that mark him out as a man who knows where he wants to be, and how to get there.

Having finished 8th in their first season in the top flight, above former champions London Wasps, Sale Sharks and Newcastle Falcons, his stated aims for this season were simple, to produce a better result in each game than they had in the corresponding fixture last season. Whilst they may not completely achieve this target, Baxter knows that if they get anywhere close to it, then they will be well clear of any relegation worries, and potentially challenging for Heineken Cup rugby next season, or even a play off place. I remind you again at this stage, that this is a team who less than two years ago were playing against the likes of Birmingham & Solihull and Coventry, so achievement of a play off place or Heineken Cup rugby should not be underestimated in any way.

Baxter's realism was never more apparent than when interviewed after the teams win over Worcester Warriors on 4th December, which saw his side firmly embedded in the top half of the table.

“Being right up there in the league is just reward for the hard work we have put in this season,” said Baxter. “However, we need to continue working as hard as we have over the past few seasons. We need to move forward in small steps. I’m not expecting to do things in leaps and bounds and our season will not be defined on whether we finish in the top four or top six. Our season will be defined on whether we are a good, solid Premiership side. That’s what we are aiming to be and it looks like we are heading in the right direction."

Baxter clearly knows that you can't go directly from bottom to top in one go, much as you can't go straight from 1st to 5th gear in a car, as it will stall, and it is this realism that will enable the Chiefs in time to become one of the top sides in the Premiership. The off field structures are there, with improvements being made to the ground which will increase capacity, and an ever increasing fan base to fill it. On the field, good players will be drawn by Baxter and the clubs honesty and will assist with making the improvements required to go up another level.

The club has become almost a beacon for teams in the lower leagues, a model for how to break into the England's' rugby elite. They give hope to fans and players alike, that rugby is still a game for all shapes and sizes, be they built like Chris Budgen or Sireli Naqelevuki, and they seem from the outside looking in to be a club that hold the games traditional values dear. Baxter is the glue that holds it all together, and the club need to ensure he remains if they are to continue on their current upward trend.

On the first weekend in April, they will travel to Paris to take on Stade Francais for the right to potentially meet Toulon in the South of France in the semi final a couple of weeks later. Over the same period the season before last they were battling with Nottingham, London Welsh and Doncaster for the right to face Bristol and a have a shot at the Premiership. They have moved on quickly, but have done so in the right way, and most neutrals will be hoping that they continue to do so. How far they can go, time till tell, but if they continue their honest progression, then 2014/15 Aviva Premiership Champions maybe isn't such a pipe dream for The Tribe after all.

My first offering.

Advice/criticism welcomed.

With qualification for next seasons Heineken Cup unlikely for either the French or Welsh sides through their league positions, their most realistic hope of returning to the top table in Europe was winning the Amlin, meaning the Chiefs would need to go some to progress from arguaby the toughest pool in the competition.

Over long sentence in my view. Maybe:

"With qualification for next seasons Heineken Cup unlikely for either the French or Welsh sides through their league positions, their most realistic hope of returning to the top table in Europe was winning the Amlin. As such the Chiefs would need to go some to progress from arguaby the toughest pool in the competition."

Just a thought.

countrys'

England's (?)

reamins

remains (?)

That's the pedantic stuff done. Ozzy, we all know your capabilities and as such the quality is not a surprise. You could lose 50 words though I think and it would improve all the more for that.

Glas, cheers for the critique mate, agree with what you say, draft number 2 will follow shortly.

Ta

That reminds me for some strange reason of a client of mine who's standard reply to caution was "aw, argh, officer you're breaking my arm".

Right, that's the grammar and spelling corrected, and I am reasonably happy with it, but haven't written anything really for quite a while, so don't think it's one of my best.

How to I attach photos to it? I am crap at that sort of thing.

What's the score with articles at the moment, are we just posting them to the forum?

Yes - post the completed article in finished articles with the link at the bottom to the page on 606v2.

That way when posting to the v2 journal site , I have the link to hand.

So I have to post it onto the main forum and the finished article section, is that correct?

yes

Done

'For those who are unaware Exeter Chiefs beat Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais'

You could do with having a comma after 'unaware.'

'thirty-one points to fourteen'

I prefer to write out numbers, but it would probably be better as '31 points to 14' in a match report.

It's a really well-written article though, Pete.