Baxter - Pressure was on

Rob Baxter hailed his Exeter's 15-9 triumph over Leeds at Sandy Park as his side's biggest win of the season so far.

Leeds boss Back remains upbeat despite eight defeats on the spin

Exeter coach Rob Baxter hailed his side's 15-9 triumph over Leeds as their biggest win of the season so far. Fly-half Ryan Davis kicked five of his six penalty attempts to help the Chiefs secure back-to-back triumphs in the Aviva Premiership. The top-flight new boys have now won four times in total in the league, leaving them sitting pretty in mid table after they had been expected to struggle. "As I said to the players in the dressing room, this was our biggest win, without doubt," said Baxter. "The pressure that is on a team when you are expected to win, or when things are going well, is totally different."

Change

Despite leading 6-3 at half-time at Sandy Park, Exeter boss Baxter felt a change of tactics was needed by the home team. "Although we started with a controlled display and got some penalties we were going through the motions a little bit," he admitted. "We re-grouped at half time, having given away a lot of possession and ball in the first half. "We had players making offloads who would normally carry. We almost tried to play pretty and I think you have to beat Leeds by being direct, physical and hard. We got back to that in the second half and ultimately that is what won us the game. "We are a team that thrives on tempo and that was lacking at times in this game but for us to come through the second half as strong as we did was great credit to the players." Baxter added: "You start to feel an improvement when you see back to back wins together. "We've jumped up the table because we've beaten Saracens and now Leeds. Obviously we have to target every home game and I think we'll be talking all week about attacking Sale (who they play next) and not being nervous."

Smart decisions

Fly-half Ceiron Thomas kicked three penalties for Leeds, who are still yet to register a Premiership victory this season after eight failed attempts. They did at least pick up a losing bonus point ahead their long journey home, though they still find themselves rooted to the foot of the table. "We tried to play from too deep and when points were scored against us we gave the ball back too cheaply," said Carnegie head coach Neil Back. "We kicked in areas where there was no competition and gave them a free kick back. "The passion, desire, workrate and effort is fantastic and belies the position we are in but we have to combine it with some smart decision making. "We definitely have the players that are able to do it and we need to do it under pressure. We have to learn quickly. There are still a lot of points to be won. "We know that from last season when we were in a similar position. We got what was needed to consolidate our place in the Premiership and we believe we can still do that."