April 7th, 2008

Exeter Chiefs skipper Richard Baxter says his side must put in the performance of the season when they contest the final of the EDF Energy National Trophy this Saturday at Twickenham, kick off 12pm.

Exeter are up against their National Division One rivals Northampton Saints and having lost two league games against the former Guinness Premiership side this season Baxter knows his side must step up another gear if they have any chance of bringing the silverware home.

The Devon outfit were defeated 18-8 in March and 11-25 at Sandy Park in November by the Saints and will certainly go into the game as underdogs with Northampton already crowned Division One champions this season.

“This is the biggest game of our season and we will have to put in the best performance of our season to win,” said Baxter, who plays No. 8 for Exeter. “We are delighted to be in the final and having got ourselves here we know we have got a very good chance of winning it.

“Playing our league rivals does add extra spice to the fixture. We have played twice this season and Northampton have just edged the win on both occasions. Now we know where we have got to make the step up and if we prepare as thoroughly as we can ahead of Saturday then hopefully we can get that win against them.

“Northampton are of course the toughest opponents we can play in this competition. They practically brought down a whole premiership side this season when they were relegated and that is why they are so strong. It is a great learning curve for us to affectively play a premiership side three times in a season as we continue to develop and improve our game and seek promotion into the premiership.”

Exeter have, however, also been enjoying their rugby this season and are second in the league. The domestic trophy is also a favourite of the Chiefs with Exeter having contested the tournament final four times in the last six years.

Baxter is hoping 2008 will be fourth time lucky though. He added: “This has been a good season for us and we would like to end it on a winning note.

“The cup is massively important to us; it is just as important as the league. We have enjoyed a lot of success in it in the past and we want that to continue but also to go that one step further and if we do that, it would be a tremendous end to the season for us.”

Notes to editors
EDF Energy is supporting rugby from the grassroots to the elite – through the EDF Energy Cup, EDF Energy National Trophy, EDF Energy Intermediate Cup, EDF Energy Senior and Junior Vase. At grassroots, the energy company is introducing 112,000 primary school children to the sport through the EDF Energy National Schools Rugby Programme. Parent company EDF was a sponsor of the IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 and EDF Energy an ITV broadcast sponsor. EDF is also a major partner of European Rugby Cup Ltd, organiser of the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup.