EXETER Chiefs’ director of rugby, Rob Baxter, was left reeling after his side were humiliated 66-14 by Leicester Tigers in the Premiership Rugby Cup final, describing the performance as “well and truly slapped in the face.”

Baxter, normally measured and composed, did not mince words in his post-match assessment on Sunday.

“Congratulations to Leicester, I always think finals are about the winners. I thought they set the tone very early with their physical intensity and their sharpness, whereas I thought we were flat-footed and almost looked fatigued from the first kick-off,” he said.

“If I’m being honest, I expected a lot more from the group, but for whatever reason we just didn’t fire any shots. That baffles me a bit, just because the feeling of the group has been pretty energetic all week. I take responsibility for the team I selected and I know we removed some experience from a couple of positions from last week’s semi-final, but at the same time I expected a lot more from this group.”

The Chiefs, appearing shell-shocked from the start, were no match for Geoff Parling’s Tigers, who delivered a ruthless display of rugby dominance on home soil at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

The East Midlanders, claiming their fourth Premiership Cup and first since 2017, moved across the field like apex predators, patient and watchful, waiting for the moment to strike. And when they did, the Chiefs never recovered.

Centre Will Wand opened the scoring for the home side, powering over from close range. Prop Archie van der Flier followed, finishing after a break from Ollie Hassell-Collins, with Billy Searle converting both.

Searle, against his hometown club, then added a third with a stunning run from halfway, leaving the Chiefs reeling with less than a quarter of the tussle played.

However, the Tigers showed no mercy. Wand crossed again from a clever cross-field kick, while Van der Flier nabbed a second try and a penalty try further extended Leicester’s lead. Late tries from Gabriel Hamer-Webb, Tarek Haffar and James O’Connor completed an overwhelming onslaught.

Exeter’s Ross Vintcent and Haydon-Wood managed the only consolation scores, but the day belonged entirely to the Tigers.

Baxter, already frustrated by his team’s inability to respond, hinted at serious reflection and accountability to come.

“Now, we’ve got to pick a few guys up, but we’ve all got to tell a few home truths and maybe get the whip out because I thought we were well off today,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parling – himself a former Chief – celebrated his first success as Tigers’ head coach. He added: “A lot of hard work goes into something like that, not just today, but right back across the season. Early in the competition we had some gritty games, ones where we had to tough it out and get a result. That’s what we did - and that’s why we got a chance to play at home today.

“We’ve used 50 players across the competition – experienced guys, youngsters, even some from Nottingham when we’ve been bodies down, but all of them have stepped us.

“I think it’s good to keep our season going and trucking on. In terms of the importance of silverware, the most important thing for me is it means if you keep putting yourselves in with those chances of big games, it shows you’re consistently doing things well and that’s great.”