Gloucester stun weakened Exeter - but what does this mean ahead of Champions Cup?

[ASFN Admin]

Gloucester 34 Exeter Chiefs 18 As dress rehearsals go for the upcoming Heineken Champions Cup round-of-16 matches, this was a bit of a curate’s egg performance from both sides. Rob Baxter protected his front-line Exeter team ahead of the Chiefs’ clash with Lyon next weekend while Gloucester had to go full bore in order to end a run of two defeats. The Cherry and Whites did at least gain some confidence before they welcome La Rochelle to Kingsholm with only their fourth Gallagher Premiership win of the season. La Rochelle will be a different ball game to facing Exeter’s second string, but at least their second-half showing will have got them in the right frame of mind after they sealed a last-gasp bonus point. “We are double champions and we set high standards. We made basic mistakes and these players need to realise they cannot continue to do that,” said Exeter director of rugby Baxter. “They will be hurting after this, but I wasn’t going to tap them on the back and tell them to enjoy a beer on the bus back home because we didn’t win an important rugby match. “That would have been doing them a disservice because it wasn’t good enough.” Gallagher Premiership 2020/21 latest standings

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