Exeter Chiefs still confident ahead of Champions Cup clash

Henry Slade is confident Exeter Chiefs can keep their European Champions Cup hopes alive this weekend by beating Montpellier in a must-win Pool 3 clash, reports Omnisport.

“We’re very confident we can put that behind us.

“It’s definitely a big game for us and we’ve been treating it like that all week. We’re really looking forward to it. When there’s this much on the line it’s really exciting. We’re going to have to be right on it.”

Back-to-back defeats at the hands of Leinster in December have left the Premiership champions facing an uphill battle to extend their European campaign.

The Chiefs sit third in Pool 3 and need victories in each of their two remaining group matches to have a realistic chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Exeter also plays Montpellier at home, having been beaten in their last domestic outing against Newcastle Falcons, but Slade is nevertheless optimistic.

📸 – PICTURE SPECIAL: Great shots of from @ppauk of the @ExeterChiefs players warming up for Saturday's @ChampionsCup clash with @MHR_officiel at @SandyParkExeter pic.twitter.com/uN1gvRnzvZ

— Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) January 11, 2018

Slade believes the calmness of the Chiefs’ director of rugby, Rob Baxter, will serve the team well as they seek to regain top form.

“Rob and Ali [Hepher, Exeter’s head coach] and the guys who coach us are very good at keeping us level-headed,” the 24-year-old added. “We never get too carried away with a big win or too carried away with a loss.”

Asked if Baxter had the skills to coach at international level in future, Slade replied: “Yeah, definitely – 100 per cent.

“You know when someone comes into a room and they just automatically have respect? That’s the sort of guy Rob is.

“He’s very level-headed and I think having a coach that is like a rock, not getting too excited or too down all the time, it’s really good for the boys to have that sturdy base.”