Rob Baxter lauds Saracens before Exeter clash

Exeter Chief head coach Rob Baxter was all praise for the Aviva Premiership champions Saracens ahead of their upcoming clash at Sandy Park on Sunday.

The last time these two teams met was during the Premiership final of the previous season when Saracens went on to defeat Baxter's men by 28-20 to win the championship.

The 45-year-old former lock believes Saracens have covered every base and are a formidable opponent to take on especially at the early stage of the tournament.

"The best thing to say about Saracens is they have learnt to be very comfortable with themselves, which in turn allows them to be very good and very consistent," Baxter said.

"They lost semi-finals and finals in the past, yet they have never run away and thought they have to rip everything up.

"They've always been comfortable in keeping the parts of their game that they are successful with and making sure the whole squad are very good at those successful parts.

"On top of that, they have been slowly adding some stardust, and what I have seen from Saracens this season is that they look like they have done exactly the same again, which is work very hard on the things they are good at, and that in turn gives them a platform from which individual players can create havoc.

"Right across their back-line they can do that, while the forwards can break tackles from anywhere, so it's the perfect balance in a lot of ways."

In the opening game of the ongoing season, Exeter Chiefs lost narrowly to Wasps after leading 18-7 at half-time. On the other hand, Saracens went on to trounce Worcester Warriors by 35-3 to extend their dominance in the tournament.

In the three games, both the teams have met each other in the previous season including the Premiership final, it was Saracens, who emerged victorious in all occasions. However, Baxter believes the pressure will be less on Exeter Chiefs.

"In a lot of ways, this game is a low pressure game for us," Baxter added.

"I know that sounds a bit strange because we didn't beat Saracens last season - they were the only side to win at Sandy Park, we lost quite heavily at their place, and then they beat us in the final - so in some ways it's a great opportunity to just go and challenge ourselves and see if we are a bit closer to them than last season.

"For me, the pressure on us is to make sure we put in a really good home performance in front of our fans.

"I want it to be one that they can really believe in, and one that we can really believe in. That's far more important to me than anything else in that first home game."

Saracens have remained unchanged for the Sunday encounter while Exeter have made three changes with prop Greg Holmes, lock Geoff Parling and wing Lachlan Turner all starting in the XV.