The John Dobson visit to Exeter that Rob Baxter hasn't forgotten

Rob Baxter has paid tribute to the success that John Dobson has enjoyed at the Stormers, the South African franchise that will take on Exeter this Saturday in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup. The URC champions swatted aside Harlequins in Cape Town last weekend in the round-of-16, with the Chiefs requiring the more-tries-scored rule to squeeze past Montpellier at Sandy Park after their tie finished level after extra time.

“They are a good side; they are very confident,” said Baxter ahead of the eagerly awaited last-eight clash in Devon. “They are playing well, buoyed by some success last year. In the Champions Cup now and going well. They are going to be a good side.

“I met John Dobson a few years ago, he came over here. He knew Don Armand from Western Province and he popped in for a day or so and I had a good chat with him. He seemed a pretty good guy. We talked a lot about what we were doing to try to build a team ethos and a team culture and it looks like he has spent a lot of time focusing on that with the Stormers.

“You can tell they are a team that plays together, that plays for each other. That makes them a very dangerous opponent. They are the really dangerous teams to play. I am assuming that whatever issues they may be having travelling over, they will only use that to build that kind of togetherness that they have been playing with.”

Exeter needed a last-gasp converted try to pull level with Montpellier on Sunday and draw their round-of-16 tie and Baxter has identified what he believes is the key thing for the Chiefs heading into the quarter-finals with a day less to recover compared to the Stormers, who played their game with Harlequins a day earlier.

“The game did go on,” he reflected. “Every period had extra time, so it was a fair bit beyond 100 minutes. The key is we can talk about recovery and not trying to do too much, keep things short and sharp this week and that is fine – but the reality is we have got to emotionally recharge the batteries.

“It was a big emotional performance from us. The crowd was rocking. It was one of those games that can actually take a lot out of you, mainly because you feel pretty good about yourself. Things feel a bit better when you actually at some stage during the week have to put a cap on that and move forward to the next game and we had to pretty much do that on Wednesday.”

Baxter expressed confidence that the dramatic manner of Exeter’s progress to the quarter-finals has pierced the general negativity surrounding the club in a season where their league form has been inconsistent and numerous high-profile players have signalled their intention not to play for the Chiefs next season.

“We have got to enjoy the here and now. You have got to enjoy the journey… One of the best things about Sandy Park, when we were first in the Premiership, was the atmosphere in the stadium. It didn’t require us to win. It just required us to play well and do the best we could, and you get a fantastic atmosphere.

“It’s just trying to remind everybody about that. After that period of success, it feels like the world is collapsing when we lose, and things are just okay when we win. I actually thought at the weekend the vibe in the stadium changed that a little bit.

“We didn’t win on the scoreboard, it was a draw and try count put us through, but the atmosphere around the ground, the times when we needed the stadium to get going and particularly at the end, I thought was fantastic.

“That is something we have got to try and focus on. There has been far too much talk press-wise and everything has been negative about us for quite a while now and we have got to make sure we work really hard to change that narrative.”