'Same players but different men' - Exeter's remarkable turnaround

Exeter boss Rob Baxter says his side's rise from their worst season to a Prem final is one of his greatest achievements.

The Chiefs fought back from 26-10 down to win 27-26 at Bath and book a first final spot in five years.

The victory came a year after the club's worst campaign when they finished ninth in the Prem and suffered the heaviest defeat in their history - a 79-17 loss at Gloucester just over a year ago.

A team that had reached six successive Prem finals - winning two and also clinching a European Champions Cup in 2020 - going to a side with just four wins all season, two of which were against under-strength opponents, rang alarm bells at Sandy Park.

But a year on, after a transformative season on and off the field, Baxter prepares to make his Twickenham return against table toppers Northampton.

"To look at players on the field fighting to a standstill like they did today, and some of those lads are the same lads who were losing by 80 points at Gloucester at the end of last season," he told BBC Sport.

"It's the same players, but it's different men, and that makes me incredibly proud."

Baxter's side became the first to finish in third place and reach a play-off final.

They are also the first team to win an away semi-final since Harlequins' historic comeback victory at Bristol in 2021, a victory that set them up for a dramatic win over Exeter at Twickenham a week later.

"No-one's done it before - we've done it," added the Exeter boss, who first took charge of the club in 2009 and led them to promotion to the top flight at the end of his first season.

"The incredible thing is you've experienced something fantastic today - some of these lads will remember it for the rest of their lives, but you have to leave it behind quite quickly.

"But at the same time you shouldn't rush to leave it behind - if I go in the changing room and go 'you've all got to just forget about today now', that would be completely wrong.

"They need to enjoy this and then come down from it in their own time, but then leave it behind."

Baxter's side now move on to a final against Northampton, who have not lost to the Chiefs this season.

Exeter mounted an incredible second-half fightback to draw 33-33 at Franklin's Gardens in the opening round of the season, before succumbing to a dramatic final-seconds try at Sandy Park in March as Saints won 35-28.

Baxter says his side's recent results - two wins over Bath, beating Leicester away and crushing Saracens last week - shows they are capable of lifting a third title.

"Knowing some of these lads, they've got the confidence and belief to think they can do anything and that's how I want them to feel," he said.

"My job is to just get them ready enough and I say more than anything else, emotionally ready enough to put another 80 minutes together, because if they can roll up like that again, it's going to be a hell of a day."