Sunday 24 January 2016 22:31, UK
Exeter Chiefs coach Rob Baxter was predictably delighted with his side's 'confusing' progress to the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup.
Baxter was left to reflect on 'an incredible finale' after the Chiefs beat the Ospreys 33-17 at Sandy Park and made it into the last-eight on points difference as the unlikely Pool Two winners.
Both sides finished on 16 points after their six pool games, as did Bordeaux-Begles who finished their campaign on a high by beating Clermont 37-28, with Clermont only needing a bonus point to secure top spot.
There was plenty of drama in the closing stages of both games, although most of it came in France where Clermont - confused by the position - failed to attemot a late penalty that would have seen them through if successful.
Baxter said: "I am obviously delighted, but delighted more for the players than anything else. Qualifying out of this pool today was very unlikely. Anyone who laid a bet on it has probably made a fortune!
"We talked about the character we wanted to show and what we wanted to take out of the game. We didn't expect to be winning the pool, but the players put in a fantastic shift and got a real tangible reward for it.
"We knew the score was staying pretty close between Clermont and Bordeaux, and it all started getting really confusing. We didn't know if we needed to kick the ball off the pitch at the end or score another try.
"It has been an incredible finale to the weekend. It is always nice when hard work gets rewarded, and I think that is what we have seen today."
Exeter's reward is a trip to Wasps in the quarter-finals, but that game does not take place until early April and Baxter is keen to see his side quickly turn their focus back to Aviva Premiership matters.
The Chiefs sit second in the table nine games into the season, only three points adrift of Saracens and in good position to launch a bid for a top-four berth.
Baxter added: "We don't need to worry about Europe now.
"It's a long way away, and that is fantastic because it gives us a chance to thicken out our squad with players returning from injury. We will enjoy it tonight, and then it is back to business with the Aviva Premiership."
