Exeter head coach Rob Baxter paid tribute to his players after they overturned Sale's 23-7 interval lead to claim a thrilling 30-23 victory.
Second half turnaround down to getting fundamentals right
Exeter head coach Rob Baxter paid tribute to his players after they overturned Sale's 23-7 interval lead to claim a thrilling 30-23 victory at Edgeley Park.
Baxter said: "The game looked to be getting away from us but credit to the guys. They got the try that stemmed the flow a bit in the first half, but really we were close to cracking.
"All we said at half-time was that we needed to do the things that re-established pressure.
"It was a massive challenge to our forwards but, to be fair, they cranked things up after half-time and forced some really good pressure at scrum time.
"We carried a lot better and got on the move a lot better and more accurately.
"We got the fundamentals right in the second half and that allowed us to play some pressure rugby."
Sale executive director of sport Steve Diamond could not hide his anger after his side frittered away their hopes of victory and were left with nothing more than a losing bonus point.
Diamond, who also felt his side has been harshly treated by the officials during the second period, said: "We just didn't perform in the second half but full credit to Exeter.
"There was a lack of decisions going our way in the second half but you tend to get that if you're not being dominant.
Desire
"We seemed to get the rub of the green in the first half but in the second half we didn't get any decisions going our way, which is difficult to stomach.
"We talked at half-time about going out with the right mentality in the second half because it happened against Leicester and it happened again here.
"There are a lot of players who need to look at themselves because we've been beaten by a team on desire and decision-making."
