Exeter’s remarkable rise from love struggler to finalist

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says his team’s worst ever season to reach the final is one of his greatest achievements.

The Chiefs came from 26-10 down to win 27-26 in Bath and reach their first final in five years.

The win came a year after the club’s worst ever campaign when they finished ninth in Love and suffered the biggest defeat in their history – 79-17 loss at Gloucester Just over a year ago.

A team that has reached six consecutive love finals – winning two and also won a European Champions Cup in 2020 – going into a team with just four wins all season, including two against lower-powered opponents, has alarm bells ringing at Sandy Park.

But a year later, after a transformative season on and off the field, Baxter is set to make his Twickenham comeback against table-toppers Northampton.

“To see the players on the ground fighting as they did today, and some of those lads are the same lads who lost by 80 points at Gloucester at the end of last season,” he told BBC Sport.

“It’s the same player, but it’s a different man, and that makes me incredibly proud.”