Exeter winger Jack Nowell test in the Champions Cup quarter-final against Northampton on September 20, 2020. -

Colorsport / Ashley Western / Sipa

  • For Stade Toulousain, winning its European semi-final on Saturday in Exeter would be "an achievement", as its manager Ugo Mola remarks.

  • Leader of the English championship, the Devon club took over at the domestic level from the terrible Saracens, entangled in their financial shenanigans.

  • It relies on a very high quality workforce, with many English and Scottish internationals.

Founded in 1871, Exeter is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world.

Present in the English elite since 2010, the Chiefs remain in four league finals in a row (including a victory in 2017) and crush the 2019-2020 edition, relaunched this summer (unlike the Top 14, frozen in the spring) : eight points ahead of their dolphin Bath, with one game less… However, the opponents of Stade Toulousain this Saturday in the Champions Cup semi-final, remain unknown to the general French public.

“They are not publicized like the Saracens [European champions 2016, 2017 and 2019], but their efficiency is just as formidable, judges the stadion winger Yoann Huget.

They have been undefeated for over a year at home.

"Compared to" Sarries "(opponents of Racing 92 in the other semi-final), Wasps or Leicester, Exeter also owes its lack of notoriety to its lack of continental reference.

Saturday, the Devon club will play its very first semi-final of the European Cup, against Toulouse who are in their twelfth ...

WHAT A BREAK!



Jack Nowell hits the @SaintsRugby defense with a piercing line break, to extend our lead in the second half of yesterdays Heineken @ChampionsCup Quarter-Final.



For full highlights head to our Youtube channel now ⬇️https: //t.co/Zx1sToiiI8 pic.twitter.com/gwcADBIYiw

- Exeter Chiefs (@ExeterChiefs) September 21, 2020

"It's a very rough team, able to multiply playing times and keep the ball," judge stadist manager Ugo Mola.

World-class players such as Scots Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray [brother of former Toulouse player Richie Gray] have joined locals such as Jack Nowell [winger], Henry Slade [center] or Sam Simmonds [3rd row].

"

A "typically English" team

In addition to this workforce rich in internationals, the success of the club in the south-west of England also relies on its leaders.

Businessman Tony Rowe took over the Chiefs in 1998, while Rob Baxter, the local Guy Novès, has led the team since 2009, having spent his entire playing career there.

Thibaud Flament is an ideal witness to Saturday's duel.

The French second or third row of the Wasps, current third in the English Championship, will join Toulouse this fall, once the Coventry “Wasps” season is over.

“Exeter has dominated the championship all season, it's a fairly complete team, typically English, with a fairly dominant pack, details the young 23-year-old globetrotter, trained in Belgium and passed through Argentina.

The forwards manage to create good opportunities for a good three-quarter line that is able to accelerate and play in defense.

"

Less mature than the Saracens?

Can we compare these Chiefs to the terrible Saracens, who have dominated them three times in the final of the English Championship since 2016, but now promised administrative relegation in D2 for having exceeded the salary cap?

“In terms of the game, yes, said Flament, currently unavailable because of an injured foot.

But the Saracens may be a more mature team, with established players for years like [opening half] Owen Farrell.

Exeter is a growing team that is growing.

"

And even if the Sandy Park will ring hollow, struck by the closed door imposed across the Channel during this period of Covid-19, we are not far from sharing the opinion of Ugo Mola: “Winning in England would be an achievement.

"

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