Star Metro - Baxter under no illusions about Exeter's task against La Rochelle

Exeter, the 2020 European champions, are England's lone representative in the last four but they head to Bordeaux having won five of their six games in continental competition this season, including a last-16 victory over French title-holders Montpellier.

La Rochelle are set to provide Exeter with their sternest European test this season, with Chiefs boss Baxter saying Friday: "They are a good team, and we are going to have to get an awful lot right and be massively resilient.

"They are going to land shots, and we just have to get up and get on with stuff and not get hurt by any one thing that happens. That consistent level of intensity across 80 minutes is always the key in big games."

He added: "We are going very much to overturn the tables, which is a nice challenge for us and one we should be relishing and looking to enjoy.

"We've got a pretty good record against French teams, and we've got to back ourselves with that a little bit and get on with stuff. We've got some good firepower in the team.

- 'Brilliant occasions in France' -

"We went to La Rochelle and won in our cup-winning year and we won in Castres this season. Occasions in France are brilliant, players love them, they are incredible experiences.

"I think you either thrive on the atmosphere, or you don't. Every game has an ebb and flow around it, and you have got to stick in there sometimes for a long time before you get the benefits of scores."

Several senior players, including brothers Joe and Sam Simmonds, who are moving to France, England wing Jack Nowell and retiring Scotland star Stuart Hogg, are leaving Exeter at the end of the season. Chiefs fans would love to see them bow out in a Champions Cup final against either Leinster or Toulouse in Dublin on May 20.

"The team we take over has got plenty of caps in it, plenty of players who have won important games," said Baxter.

"It is a big game for the club. It feels like a very tight group that is working very hard to make this game successful.

"That is the key. That is how you look after each other, whether you are staying or going, and it feels like we have got that kind of vibe around the place at the moment.

"They are going to come at us, and there are going to be times when we are going to have to weather it, stick together and hold our discipline, hold our work-rate and not take a breath.

"You stay in the fight when it is their moments, and then you take yours when it is your time. There is no way of dressing it up."

F.Davis--SMC