‘I’m hugely proud’

Toulouse delivered a rugby lesson in their Investec Champions Cup quarter-final thrashing of Exeter Chiefs on Sunday afternoon in the blazing sunshine, but it was a lesson that the Chiefs seem more than willing to learn.

Speaking after the humbling defeat, Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter spoke positively about his players and the learning curve that he believes they are ascending.

He said: “I have to say I’m hugely proud of the players for the commitment they put into the game. I couldn’t have asked anything more of them for what they’ve laid on the line, both physically and emotionally.”

To their credit, Exeter trailed by only a single point at the break, pushing one of Europe’s premier sides, but lost their way in the second period.

Baxter addressed that too.

He said: “When we came in at half-time, I think we had done a lot of what we wanted to do. The game was hugely competitive, we were right in the mix, and we put an awful lot physically into the game. In the second half, we probably couldn’t maintain our quality in a couple of key areas.”

Speaking to the club’s social media, Baxter was yet more effusive in his praise. He said: “I said to the players ‘do you think you’ll be a better player, an improved player, you’ll have learned in a positive way from this experience?’ In a lot of ways, that’s the single more important thing for us.”

Baxter continued to underline the positive effects he believes today’s match will have on his squad.

He said: “I’m very confident that down the line this will be a very positive experience for us. We were a competitive team here today, and then the game got away from us and I think that probably shows that we got a lot right. When we dropped two or three percent, offloads started happening and we started chasing shadows. Without doubt we’ll be a better team for today’s experience.”

Refusing to ignore the pain of a heavy European defeat, Baxter still saw positives.

He said: “Sometimes having to stick together when it feels as tough as it will have felt for the lads, it can really weld them together. They’re a proud, hard-working bunch and I think today will hurt them a bit. That’s the true test of a great player, and a great team.”

While Exeter were learning lessons the hard way, former Wasps star Jack Willis was showing just how much he has already learned. The ex-England flanker made the switch to Toulouse in 2022 and led the way for the French side against the Chiefs.

He finished with more than double the running metres of any of his team-mates and scored a crucial try.

Speaking after the match, Willis was plainly delighted and not least by the crowd chanting his name at full time.

He said: “That means a lot. Hopefully that means that I am winning them over slowly. It [ball-carrying] is always a focus for me. I want to make sure that I am not just adding in defence, I am adding in attack as well. I do a lot of extra work on leg-drive stuff with a couple of the boys here and sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. I haven’t watched the game back yet, it was so hot that my head is still spinning.”

Continuing, the English star spoke about how he has fallen in love with the south of France.

He said: “I love it here. The club are great and they have really helped my family settle in here and that’s something that I put at the forefront of my decision-making of what’s best for my family and my two little children. We want to make sure that we are really enjoying things. I try and soak it in every time [stepping off the bus]. I love it. You don’t get used to it. I think it gets better and better and especially in games like this, I absolutely love it. The passion out here is incredible. You could feel that today.”

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