Exeter need to 'grow up' despite rare win

BBC News

12-05-2025

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter says he is not happy with the standards his side set in their 42-14 win over Northampton.With Saints fielding a second-string team as they focus on the European Champions Cup final, Exeter's frontline squad earned a bonus-point victory.But it came despite a host of errors which upset the Exeter boss, who has taken control of coaching after the removal of head coach Rob Hunter and suspension of backs coach Ali Hepher in the wake of their club-record 79-17 loss at Gloucester."We've got to just grow up a little bit," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon."I think it's almost like everything that goes wrong is a bit unfair. The only things that went wrong in today's game are the things we let happen or made happen."If I can get on top of the lads then we've got a bit of a chance. But I'm not going to back down from setting high standards for the players."
Baxter says he is "really looking forward to pre-season" as he tries to put the worst campaign in Exeter's recent history behind him.Sunday's victory was just Exeter's fourth in the league this season - although as with the win over Saracens in January, it came against a side shorn of its international stars. Chiefs remain second-from-bottom, where they are guaranteed to finish, which will be their worst-ever top-flight season since promotion in 2010 - no matter how they fare against Harlequins and Sale in their final two fixtures."This is a really good opportunity for us now because we are going against two teams, and I have expectations of us being top-four next season," added Baxter, who has led Exeter to two league titles and the 2020 European Champions Cup."The first thing I'm going to say on Tuesday is 'let's see who the men are, who are the kind of players who can be a top-four person are, because right here and now some of you are almost refusing to do basic things that look after you', and we've got to get over that very, very quickly."