Baxter praises spirited Chiefs performance

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter admitted he could not have asked for anymore from his players as they slipped to a successive Heineken Cup defeat at the hands of reigning champions RC Toulon.

A week after going down 14-9 at Sandy Park, the star-studded French side again proved too strong for Baxter’s men, winning the latest encounter 32-20 at the Stade Felix Mayol.

Again England World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson played a decisive role in Toulon’s success, coming off the bench to help his side claim maximum reward as he bagged the home side’s all-important fourth try.

Earlier winger David Smith (2) and prop Xavier Chiocci had also crossed the whitewash, whilst Aussie fly-half Matt Giteau weighed in with the remainder of Toulon’s points.

The Chiefs, though, never gave up and their on-field efforts saw them counter with tries from Don Armand and Ben White, together with further kicks from Henry Slade and Ceri Sweeney.

The defeat – Exeter’s third in the competition this term – means qualification to the latter stages will now be a tall order, but Baxter remained upbeat about his side’s showing in the aftermath of this latest fixture.

“We probably made a couple of defensive mistakes that really hurt us, and we definitely didn’t take a couple of try-scoring opportunities we worked hard to create,” said Baxter.

“We have been involved in a really good game of rugby again and come up a little bit short. “With large parts of what we do, we are very competitive, and if one or the two try-scoring opportunities we created in the first half had gone in, it would have created a really pressure cauldron for Toulon.

“We had our moments to take control of the match, and I said to the players that we ask them to learn all the time, and we are learning as a whole team and a coaching staff, but we have to be in it (the Heineken Cup) and taking part in it to keep moving forward."

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Picture: Exeter Rugby Club/Pinnacle Photo Agency