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The new rules opinions that have 'baffled' Exeter boss Rob Baxter

(Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Multi-trophy winner Rob Baxter has spoken about his bewilderment over some of the opinions voiced after his Exeter team’s losing start to the new Gallagher Premiership season. The Chiefs are currently sitting in twelfth in the 13-team league following defeats at Leicester and at home to Northampton. There is a feeling that with referees being more stringent on latchers and with five-metre scrums when attackers get held up now being replaced by goal-line drop-outs, Exeter have come unstuck in the red zone.

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Even Northampton boss Chris Boyd hinted as much when assessing his team’s 26-24 win at Sandy Park last weekend. That is a perspective that Baxter has now dismissed, insisting his Exeter team never double-latched in previous years and that no firm judgment can be made regarding their current form given it is so early in the new league season. 

They also still have numerous players to come back into their fold, including Stuart Hogg for this weekend’s trip to Sale with their other Lions trio, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill and Sam Simmonds, all set to be available for the following round four fixture at home to Worcester. 

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Ollie Phillips guests on the latest RugbyPass Offload

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Ollie Phillips guests on the latest RugbyPass Offload

The suggestion that the new rules have somehow caught Exeter out was something that fired up Baxter at his weekly media conference, the long-serving director of rugby giving a lengthy response to the query. “We are always tweaking and developing our game… we haven’t stayed around the top-end of the Premiership for the last six, seven years and won Europe and won a couple of Premierships just playing exactly the same game for that seven years. 

“A lot of people like to say we have (stayed the same) but we haven’t. There are changes there that have kept us a little bit ahead of the game. A perfect example, six years ago the five-metre tap wasn’t in anybody’s game. Well, we brought that in a couple of seasons ago and now everybody is doing it. We changed things and added things as we have gone along and we did the same at the start of the season.

“The big problem I have got is we haven’t played to our potential with the players we have got on the field yet, we could play a bit better, and we actually haven’t got a full group yet to select from. So there are some things we are doing, but I can’t tell you if they work or not so I don’t know whether it is the right time to change them. I genuinely can’t sit here and go, ‘Well, I know that doesn’t work’ because we could be doing the things we are doing a bit better, and it might not take much change in personnel to make things a lot better. Until that happens I would be very careful that I don’t instigate a raft of changes that make us a far worse team than we are or could be. There is a balance to how we do things.

“One thing I would say, and I know there has been a bit of focus because a couple of people have said to me, ‘It’s the new law changes‘, we haven’t been penalised once five metres from the opposition try line. We have lost the ball a couple of times and we have been turned over, we have been held up over the line but we haven’t been penalised. We haven’t been refereed out of the game in any scenario so I’m kind of baffled by people just dropping in an opinion on something that hasn’t affected us. We don’t double latch, we never have done. I don’t why people think we double latch. We have never done, so we were never doing anything illegal. 

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“What happened when went into our pick-and-go and our five-metre attack game, teams started to copy that and quite rightly so because it had some success and some teams started to develop a double latch process. Well, that’s fine. Those teams have had to change. We actually haven’t had to change our process there five metres out because we weren’t doing it anyway.

“This is where sometimes you have not just got to have a base analysis of stuff, you have to have a bit of detail. It’s not as simple as going something has changed this season because it hasn’t. What has changed is we’re not playing at the level we are capable of playing or we will certainly play in the future from what I am expecting.”

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J
JPM 41 minutes ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

Unfortunately you don't know anything about French rugby, coaches and players but still making a lot of assumptions and judgements to push your prefabricated and simplistic point of view that Dupont is manipulating everything and is a bad guy. I am not a NZ rugby specialist and wouldn't dare make such theories about what is going on within the ABs team. Therefore my advice to you is to do like Dupont and stay humble when you don't know all the background of the issues !!!


Firstly if you knew a bit of Galthié, he is not the type of coach who is going to ask advice to his players and even his captain about team selection. He is as stubborn as you...


Second Ramos has played a lot of times as 10 with Toulouse and therefore Dupont (in particular when Ntamack is injured and unfortunately it has often happened recently and for long periods). He even played 10 during the last 3 games of the 2024 6N and this was far better performance than the first two games with Jalibert as 10.


Thirdly Jalibert lacked of respect to a La Rochelle player so your theory is once again out.


Fourth as I explained to you Galthié went for a 6-2 bench and Jalibert can only play 10 which doesn't fit that plan. Furthermore as 15 Buros is better under high balls than Ramos and everybody is prepared for a tactical kicking game.


So you can blame Galthié for a lot of things (as you clearly enjoy doing at the end of your post and you should be very happy as an AB fan) but certainly not Dupont. Sorry once more for your conspiracy theory.


And don't worry about potential disharmony in the French team; they are excellent mates around their captain. Jalibert is well known in the French rugby circles to have not a strong character (and we saw that in the WC quarter finals as he is very nervous in any decisive international game unlike Ntamack and Ramos as for his late penalty kick vs England this year).


In conclusion enjoy the game tmrw night. It is good that the ABs are very upset; we should watch a great game of rugby. I hope for running rugby and not too much kicking. With 5 key players injured on our side (Ntamack, Baille, Atonio, Cros and Penaud) and 2 on your side I and various French fans see you as favourites. I obviously hope for another result.


If you are interested you can read a good article in the Guardian on the subject of France-NZ games.

92 Go to comments
K
KB 43 minutes ago
The 'one difference' between Boks and the back-to-back All Blacks

Consistency hasnt been there they have many great players SA were also not unbeaten in the 2023 WC - NZ were in 2015 WC McCaw and Carter Nonu and Smith - SA did not have those Marque players in those postions in 2019 or 2023 - I wouldnt rank them ahead of the 20I5 ABs - They clocked up 60 points against France in the QF - Furthermore I do not believe for one moment SA won 2023 fairly no way - they were so favoured it became obvious that behind the scenes SA the nation bought the title - Their last 3 matches were won by a solitary point there were many contentious decisions that went their way that it became obvious it wasnt coincidence - Sport has been hijacked by a satanic cult just as is Politics

Some players coaches officials and sponsors are involved - they know who they are - its called Freemasonry - any sport that allows betting is corrupt - its not all about money either for these parasites its also about control - Lots of American NFL players have spoken openly about games being scripted - Football is also rigged Referees have been caught on film showing freemason hand signs - The 95 RWC final ranks as the highest and most obvious attempt at cheating There was no way SA were going to allow NZ to gate crash Nelson Mandelas reunification party - NZ were so good they had to posion almost the entire team to get a 3 point win - a Hollywood Movie ( theres your Red Flag ) was made about SAs triumph called Invictus


William Henley wrote a poem called Invictus


It starts


Out of the night that covers me BLACK ( All Blacks ) as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever GODS maybe for my unconquerable Soul ...( Olan says INVICTUS is an evil Malevolent entity who corrupted the Titans ... this is Mandelas double meaning speech ( hes a fraud ) - of thanks for helping overcome SA's adversary NZ - There is only ONE true God Yahuah - Only a false god would be complicit in Cheating Corruption and Harming others to win a RWC for a sick and sinful Nation ) the poem ends with


I am the CAPTAIN of my soul


SA will forever bear the stain of guilt and disgrace over their involvement in poisoning the ABs a day before the 95 RWC Final

10 Go to comments
C
CO 1 hour ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

92 Go to comments
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