Wage ceiling scandal continues to motivate Exeter against Saracens, says Rob Baxter | Exeter

“You can use anything in the sport,” said Baxter, whose team won the Premier League and European doubling in 2020 after Saracens was fined and scored minus a breach of the payroll rules. “If some players still feel it, that’s a problem, which is great. They should use it as motivation. It may still feel personal and it’s good. Everyone has to find their own reasons. You have to do it. It’s exactly the same for Saracens.”

When the parties last met in full force in December 2019, a mass dispute broke out on the field, resulting in a red card for Harry Williams, a supporter of the Chiefs who had been replaced and had previously suffered a sin. Accusations of sledding were later made against some Saracens players, however Exeter won the game 14-7, and Sarries, who had to spend last season playing in the second level, has not visited Devon since.

If mutual antipathy is not exactly on a par with Manchester United and Liverpool, Baxter will not object to such comparisons. “If people think it’s so big, it’s great for both of us. You want to be involved in big matches that get a lot of support and a lot of coverage. I’m happy if people see it that way, and we need to make sure it brings out the best in us.

“Everyone is aware of the salary cap issues, and there is also a clear international level in the field. For all sorts of reasons, it’s a really big and exciting game. The Saracens are above us in the league and we want to be higher in the league than we are. We have many motives, and we should use them all.

However, his Saracens counterpart Mark McCall has made it clear that he doesn’t want his players to get too involved. “We try not to jump on things too much. Our motivation is very inward in many ways and it has served us well over the years. We want to be a really consistent team that doesn’t choose when we get more motivation or when we don’t. But obviously there will be games where certain people really enjoy getting up and some people may be in Exeter.

Cardiff says they will continue to fill their European Cup matches this month, despite the fact that not everyone who has been in South Africa this week due to problems with Covid is available. Most of the party, which includes 15 Welsh international players, will return to the UK in the morning on a charter flight, but they will have to be quarantined in a hotel in England for 10 days, while six members of the group will have to stay in Cape Town after that. returns positive Covid tests. Fourteen members of the Munster travel party are also required for a 10-day quarantine period in South Africa.

The wasps have signed Argentina’s loose propeller Rodrigo Martínez. The 23-year-old debuted in the test in September and played against France last month.