Since their rise to the Aviva Premiership five
years ago the Exeter Chiefs have gone about their business in a quiet and
un-assuming manner. They have been determined and professional and last season
they were finally rewarded with their first piece of silverware; the LV Cup. It
was a historic moment for the Club and hugely deserved.
The Exeter way stems from sheer hard work as Dean
Mumm described to me; “We are a hard working side, the points and wins that we
do get we work very hard for them. We have an attacking mentality; we like to
run it from everywhere, maybe to our detriment sometimes!! Finding that balance
is a continual struggle for us but we like to play hard working, attacking, up
tempo rugby.”
With the squad that they have heading into the
2014/15 season, and indeed the individuals that were present last year you can
see why this game plan should be a formula for success. In their back line they house
a multitude of threats with Phil Dollman, Tom James and the mercurial Fetu'u Vainikolo; eyes up, running rugby comes naturally to these men and when it
works it is a joy to watch. In Gareth Steenson the Chiefs have one of the most
underrated fly halves in the whole of the Aviva Premiership; his ability to
dictate games and his accuracy off the kicking tee is second to none and will be absolutely critical. However Steenson isn’t assured a
starting place every week as young Henry Slade continues to develop at a rate
of knots. Henry is just one of the Chiefs' young hot shots the others include Jack Nowell,
Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Hill. All have a huge amount to learn however to a man they have already proved that they can compete with the best of the Premiership and their development will be exciting to watch.
It is clear that the squad is packed with talent
however last season, particularly towards the end of the year, they had an
issue finishing off games. This is something their Captain is fully aware of and it has been focused on during their off-season;
“We lost a number of games by less than 7 last year,
sadly for us a number of those were at home and even more heartbreaking was the
fact that we were leading many coming into the last 20 minutes. Ultimately
you don’t want to be in the position where a penalty goal or a try can change
the result of the game, so it is about taking the opportunities when they
present themselves across the game however when we do get in that situation we
are going to be a little bit smarter in the way that we play. Whatever the
context is we want to come out of those situations with wins, when you win
three or four of those games it completely changes how you finish your season. “
The Chiefs have already started to put these words
into practice after pulling back from a 21-8 deficit against Ulster to
win 22-21 in their recent run out. Winning tight games is a skill and a habit and whilst some clubs are
downplaying pre-season the Chiefs aren't underestimating the significance of their
three from three record and the manner in which they have attained it.
This season isn’t about radically changing anything
at Sandy Park, their systems, playing and coaching personnel are all more than
capable of delivering consistent wins and pushing for the top flight European
Competition again. Instead the focus will be on accurately executing their game
plan and continuing to showcase the Exeter way. The Chiefs will be boosted by
their Tribe and the unique sound of the Tomahawk Chop and now it is time for Rob
Baxter’s men to press on once again in the Aviva Premiership.
