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Rob Baxter gives green light to Exeter celebrations after completing the double

By PA

Exeter boss Rob Baxter declared that the celebrations can really begin after a 19-13 victory over Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership final completed the double.

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A week after Racing 92 were edged in Bristol to secure a first Champions Cup, the Chiefs became the fourth English club to sweep all before them on the domestic and European fronts.

The European silverware was taken to Twickenham in preparation for Exeter to really begin their party.

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Hartley relives that red card

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Hartley relives that red card

“The biggest emotion right now is relief. I know that sounds a bit strange when you’ve just won a competition, but last week played a huge part in that,” Baxter said.

“We’ve got both trophies in the changing room there because now we can celebrate last week as well as this week.

“If we didn’t win here, that would have taken the shine off it. This allows us to stop, pause and look back a little bit over a very good season over two very tough competitions.

“Now we can spend some time reflecting on how important the work these guys have done has been to the club.

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“I’m relieved that they’re able to really enjoy what they’ve achieved without any shine being taken off because that wouldn’t have felt too good.”

Wasps were heroic in defeat, casting aside a fractured build-up that saw seven players test positive for coronavirus to push Exeter right until the death.

They even had a glorious late chance to snatch the lead only to botch the line-out when a penalty that would have levelled the score was there for the taking.

“It’s pretty gutting. It’s a tough one because we’re gutted but at the same time we’re proud of the game,” boss Lee Blackett said.

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“Things didn’t go our way at times, but our character and fight were there, especially against a team who we know are so good close to the line.

“I’m really proud of our character and right to defend our line and not allow them over.

“All of our fight and character gave us an opportunity with a couple of minutes to go but unfortunately we didn’t take it.

“The decision to go for the line-out, I’ll never question that decision. It’s the decision they felt.”

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J
JW 4 hours ago
How the four-team format will help the Wallabies defeat the Lions

Have to imagine it was a one off sorta thing were they were there (saying playing against the best private schools) because that is the level they could play at. I think I got carried away and misintrepted what you were saying, or maybe it was just that I thought it was something that should be brought in.


Of course now school is seen as so much more important, and sports as much more important to schooling, that those rural/public gets get these scholarships/free entry to play at private schools.


This might only be relevant in the tradition private rugby schools, so not worth implementing, but the same drain has been seen in NZ to the point where the public schools are not just impacted by the lost of their best talent to private schools, there is a whole flow on effect of losing players to other sports their school can' still compete at the highest levels in, and staff quality etc. So now and of that traditional sort of rivalry is near lost as I understand it.


The idea to force the top level competition into having equal public school participation would be someway to 'force' that neglect into reverse. The problem with such a simple idea is of course that if good rugby talent decides to stay put in order to get easier exposure, they suffer academically on principle. I wonder if a kid who say got selected for a school rep 1st/2nd team before being scouted by a private school, or even just say had two or three years there, could choose to rep their old school for some of their rugby still?


Like say a new Cup style comp throughout the season, kid's playing for the private school in their own local/private school grade comp or whatever, but when its Cup games they switch back? Better represent, areas, get more 2nd players switching back for top level 1st comp at their old school etc? Just even in order to have cool stories where Ella or Barrett brothers all switch back to show their old school is actually the best of the best?

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