Aviva Premiership
Baxter demands improvement from Chiefs
ESPN Staff
August 13, 2012
Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter looks on, Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers, Aviva Premiership, Sandy Park, Exeter, England, January 2, 2011
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter has demanded more from his squad © Getty Images
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Players/Officials: Rob Baxter | Jordan Crane
Tournaments/Tours: Aviva Premiership

Exeter Chiefs coach Rob Baxter has admitted his disappointment following a pre-season loss to RaboDirect PRO12 side Connacht.

The Chiefs went down 8-6 at Sandy Park and Baxter has now demanded that they learn from the experience prior to their Aviva Premiership opener against Sale on September 1.

"You should always be concerned when you've lost. But the important thing is that you then try and find ways to get better," he told the Western Morning News.

"We will have our first proper review day on Monday with the players and we can what we've done right and wrong against Connacht. We are disappointed not to win. You have give credit to Connacht as well, they came here and they were very dogged, particularly around the contact area.

"Ultimately, that caused us problems. We're unhappy with the amount of errors we made. We made good opportunities and then literally just dropped the ball, particularly in the first-half."

Meanwhile, Leicester Tigers No.8 Jordan Crane celebrated his long-awaited return from injury with a brace against Championship newcomers Jersey.

The Tigers ran out 34-21 winners but for Crane the biggest positive was being back on the field, having missed all of last season following knee surgery.

"I knew I was ready for today, but I still felt a bit nervous before the game," he told the Leicester Mercury. "It's been hard work, but it wasn't just down to me. At the club, Alex Martin, Julie Hayton and Dave Orton have been massive for me. They kept me going.

"Any recovery period has its lows and its highs, and it's those guys who keep you on the right track. The goal was always to be ready for the start of the pre-season but I've been dipping in and out of training so it was only last week that I thought I was really ready for this. The knee feels great and now I want to push on from here."

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