Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has hit back at criticisms of his side’s style of play.
Writing in his column for The Times this week, Stuart Barnes has took aim at the Chiefs by branding them boring.
Let’s just say it didn’t go down well with the Exeter head man.
“All I will say is when people start making snap judgements on a style of play – and this is how I talk to our coaches and the people that work for me – is believe what you see with your own eyes,” revealed Baxter to DevonLive.
Totally understand annoyed comments by Rob Baxter @ExeterChiefs re reaction of Saints' Chris Boyd to Exeter's win in the semi. Exeter on song are as watchable as any other team, they scored two glorious tries but who cares anyway? A try is 5 points however you score it.
— Stephen Jones (@stephenjones9) May 29, 2019
“If all you want to focus on is the periods of play when we are five metres from the opposition line, then fine. If that’s what you want to do, then do that.
“But there are 95 other metres on a rugby pitch, so if you want to make a decision based on what you see when we are at one end of the field, make sure you add to it how you get there and the decisions you make to get there.
“I think (Northampton Saints head coach) Chris Boyd made the comment after the Northampton game about teams that play with optimism have to find a way. Well, we didn’t take a drop goal on Saturday. Northampton did. There is nothing that shows less optimism than taking drop goals.
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“There is nothing in the sport of rugby that shows less optimism than that because you are not trying to score a try, do you see what I mean?
“Open your eyes and actually see. Look outside that five metres if you really want to decide on how we play.”