Baxter likes what he sees from double test

A Chiefs’ XV defeated London Scottish 45-19 in the opening game, before a different XV then saw off the Cornish Pirates 46-24.

For Baxter, it produced a decent work-out for much of his squad and he aims to use the run-outs as the foundations for what he hopes will be a successful campaign for the Devonians.

“I’m really pleased,” he said. “We’re not going to make any secret of it, but we looked at what was really important for us last year as a team – and the Premiership Cup running into the Premiership season was really important for us (as a pre-season block).

“We’ve deliberately started early and we’ve got all the players playing in this double-header, which is great news. At the same time, we’re still far enough away from the Premiership to have some things to work on and get ready for the Ospreys and Ulster games – and it’s just important for us to get some game time and feel settled with how we want to play.”

Baxter would have liked what he saw from his players, especially some of the detailed work they’ve done during the close season on honing their new season game plan.

“I was actually really pleased with the levels we got to today,” added Baxter. “We’ve actually held back from having too much what you call live contact, but I thought we looked pretty good in that area.

“Of course, there will always be elements of our game we can improve, but I think our ambition to attack was very good, our ambition to work hard was really looked and our set-piece looked strong, particularly around the scrum. I think we ticked a lot of boxes today and that will give us a solid foundation.”

Whilst the dominance of the Chiefs in the set-piece was clear to see in both games, Baxter acknowledged it will also create plenty of headaches for him and his fellow coaches as the countdown continues to their seasonal opener against Leicester Tigers on September 14.

“Based on today, I mean, the front-row alone is going to be very tough to pick,” continued Baxter. “We’ve also got a bit more competition in the backline that we had last season.

“Josh Hodge is back up and fully-fit, it’s the same with Ben Hammersley. Paul Brown-Bampoe, particularly in attack, looks very dangerous and Will Rigg is taking a step up from where was last season. Zack Wimbush will do the same with age.

“You then watch guys like Nick Lilley and Ben Coen step in and look very comfortable at Championship level, so that’s fantastic for us. These are the guys who are going to thrive for us in the coming seasons.”

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