Exeter 'playing safe' says frustrated boss Baxter
Rob Baxter's side have lost all nine games they have played in the Premiership and European Champions Cup this season
- Published
Exeter boss Rob Baxter says his side have to take more risks if they are to start winning games again.
The Chiefs were thrashed 64-21 on Sunday by European champions Toulouse in their second Champions Cup pool match.
The French side ran in 10 tries against Exeter, whose only wins this season have been in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
Baxter's team are bottom of the Premiership and only off the foot of their Champions Cup pool by virtue of points scored.
"We've got to free ourselves up from just almost playing safe a little bit," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.
"Playing safe is actually playing dangerous nowadays. Playing multi-phase rugby when you can make a pass and move the point of contact and move them to where they've got less defenders, that's safe rugby now.
"We keep encouraging the lads to do it, but actually having that confidence to do it when you're losing some games is hard."
France star Antoine Dupont scored the first of Toulouse's 10 tries
A pair of Exeter tries early in the second half reduced the gap to Toulouse to 23 points before the French side ran in three more scores.
"The was a period after half-time where I thought we played some of our best rugby of the season against a very good side and things looked like we were just starting to create the momentum our way," added Baxter.
"But keeping it up is one thing, but we should have started the game like it.
"How that game was after half-time was how we talked about playing the game, about getting them moving, going after them, doing things ourselves, moving the ball to create difficult scenarios.
"Sometimes we almost waited to get our players back and then did quite a static play when we can just going.
"Some of it's quite new to the players to know that we're happy with them just getting on with things and getting the ball moving, but that is the way you're going to win games now."