Baxter delighted at Sarries crack

Saracens put Leicester Tigers to the sword in the first semi-final, before Chiefs joined them in a much tighter affair at Sandy Park against Wasps. It took until the final play of the game for Exeter to finally secure their place at Twickenham, a second penalty try of the game sealing a 34-23 win over a battling Wasps side.

Chiefs have lost both encounters with Saracens this season, including their only home loss of the campaign, but Baxter is relishing the opportunity to spring another surprise in a maiden Final.

"If someone said to me was there one team you would want to play in the final, you would have to say Saracens this season. They've been the stand-out side, finished top of the Premiership and are the best team in Europe.

"If you are going to win the Premiership, let's go against a good side. Let's go against Saracens. It feels very good. It was a hell of a game. Neither team really got away from each other for most of the game, but I think we showed enough qualities over the course of the 80 minutes to deserve the win.

"We have been challenging the players the last four or five weeks to say to them this is the time of the season where they have got to take hold of it, especially the senior players. The lads who played have made a name for themselves. They are a little bit further up the ladder than they were before, and the club is a little bit further up the ladder.

"What we need to remember about this club is what gives us the backbone and the foundations we've got, is that we had to spend a lot of time being tough and dealing with being second and not winning everything, and saying that one day we wanted to be a very successful club.

"This won't feel like a shock to the players. It will feel like the next step they wanted to take," Baxter said.

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