Exeter boss Rob Baxter praises 'exceptional' Perpignan win

Brett Sturgess celebrates his try against Perpignan

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter has described the club's 31-14 Amlin Cup win over Perpignan as "exceptional".

The Chiefs came back from 14-0 down to win to top their group and advance to the knockout rounds of a European tournament for the first time ever.

"I thought we were exceptional and great credit to all the players," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

Exeter will now travel to Paris to take on French giants Stade Francais in the quarter-finals in April.

"It's tough to come back in any game," Baxter said.

"But to do it in such a pressure game, and to do it in the manner we did, where we kept our composure, we kept working hard, we kept the scoreboard ticking over, we did a lot of really good things.

"It's just rewards for the efforts the players have put in."

And Baxter said the win means the club has met one of their pre-season ambitions.

"We've challenged them to say 'if you're ambitious you come through these games' and I think they did that remarkably well," he added.

"I'm just so pleased for the players. They've achieved something that they really set out to achieve at the start of the season by pushing through this competition to go at least one stage further and perhaps a bit more."