Benetton game too soon for returning Chiefs stars

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter says his side's European Challenge Cup quarter-final against Benetton in northern Italy will come too soon for the return of key players Len Ikitau and Ethan Roots.

Chiefs withstood a second-half fightback from Munster to hold on for a 31-21 victory at a blustery Sandy Park in Baxter's first game since it was announced he had agreed a new "multi-year" deal to continue his 17-year reign.

The win has set up a tie against Italian club Benetton, who won all four matches in the pool stage and edged out Cardiff in an 11-try thriller in the round of 16.

Wingers Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Paul Brown-Bampoe shone in Saturday's victory against Munster and they will be on the plane for Sunday's crunch clash.

But Australia international centre Ikitau, 27, who suffered a shoulder injury in December, and England back row Roots, 28, who has been ruled out since a calf tear last month, remain unavailable for selection.

"We came through the weekend with a clean bill of health," Baxter told BBC Radio Devon.

"Obviously, a few bumps and bruises. We made an awful lot of tackles. We made double the tackles of Munster, which was a fantastic defensive effort in the second half, which ultimately won us the game.

"Len is getting closer by the day. He's running around, he's doing quite a bit.

"He was doing a little bit of contact on bags yesterday, which is always a good sign, and he's kind of in the mix of being a week or so away.

"Ethan Roots is very close. He's pretty much in full training. We're getting close to starting to pad the squad out a bit - that in itself probably allows us that little bit more rotation than we're available to at the moment. We're getting there."

It is make or break time in Exeter's season. Currently fourth in the Prem, one point off third-placed Leicester Tigers, and with a European quarter-final in front of them, the Chiefs' 2025-26 campaign has been far more fruitful than last year's.

The 2019-20 double winners know exactly what it takes to play on two fronts, domestically and in Europe, and Baxter maintains he will not prioritise one trophy over another.

He said: "We're kind of at that stage of the season now where we're going flat out in every game really, and that's the only way we can approach it.

"We can't afford to lose games in the Premiership, and we certainly can't afford to lose a game in Europe if we want to do well.

"I'm not getting guys coming into the office telling me they're tired and they're sore and they want to have time off - they're just getting on with it. We just like winning at the moment."

After Baxter's side fly back on Sunday night, full focus will turn to Prem leaders Northampton Saints in their next match at Sandy Park on 18 April.