The increase in the Premiership salary cap has seen a plethora of foreign talent join the ranks in England's top flight, with the likes of Wasps, Bath, Leicester et al bringing in some remarkable talents in their quests for success.

However, sitting pretty in second spot are Exeter Chiefs, a team that seldom go for big name options, looking instead to a mixture of aging and established premiership players, their own youth products, fringe players from other teams and a few lesser known internationals. This 'Moneyball' technique has served the Chiefs well since they earned promotion in 2010, and for a side that in their first Premiership season that were fined for fielding too many overseas players, it's amazing to see how many top English players and prospects have been developed at Sandy Park.

Rob Baxter has done such a good job that when Lancaster resigned from the England job, Baxter was most people's favourite to take the reigns of the national side. But how has Baxter managed to turn the Chiefs from the underdog side that most people 'chose' as their second side to one of the pedigree sides in the top flight, and the current Kings off the West Country? Here are the three biggest reasons in my eyes.

Forward Leadership

This extends beyond picking the right Skipper, it's having key men throughout the pack that can be relied upon to make the right choices and lead by example, thus putting your team in position to unleash the backs. Forwards win games, backs decide by how much. The biggest example of this forward leadership is undoubtedly Thomas Waldrom. The resurgent Thomas the Tank Engine impersonator has been exceptional since leaving Leicester Tigers to join Exeter, and you can see him take control of the pack as soon as their is a sniff of a try for the forwards, and he will back himself every time to cross the tryline. He's now been joined at Sandy Park by a true Professor of lineouts, Geoff Parling, and between the 2, the pack is becoming more and more dominant behind these two Pack Leaders. In fact, there are also others in the forwards you could apply the same to. That is the level of groundwork Baxter and his team put in before signing someone. It will also lead us into the next segment.

Hivemindedness

I'm not even sure if that's a word. But it fits. Hivemind is based on bees, it's about the ultimate in teamwork. One goal, one vision, one team. It certainly isn't about being one dimensional though. The Chiefs have plan A, plan B, right through to Plan Z. It's why they are so hard to beat. The hivemindeness is about the playmakers of the side knowing when to make the call to change it up if it's not working, and it's about the rest of the side being able to change the plan, as one, on the fly. An example of this can be seen in Chiefs recent loss to the Tigers. Tigers were running away with the game, so Exeter changed it up and ended the game with an almost perfect comeback, ending up taking what may prove to be a vital losing bonus point at the end of the season.

Trust

A 5 letter word that is vital in any teams progress. Trust the players to make the calls on the pitch, trust your youngsters to come in and do a job, trust your old heads to be able to turn in an 80 minute performance. In rugby, and many team sports, trust is often replaced by expectation. Trust is a more cerebral factor, it's almost pressure free, there is no scope to fail. If you trust your fly half to make the right call with the boot, 99% of the time you'll get the desired result, risk and reward. Expectation is a higher risk. If you admonish a player’s error, the doubts are in their mind if and when they fail. Next time out in the same situation, they may not take that same risk, and make the wrong call second time. This seems basic, but with your decision making players, it can be make or break.

Would Chris Robshaw choose to go for the corner to win a game in the future? Possibly not. Would he have been the hero had England killed that World Cup game against Wales off with a try from the line out? Yes. The trust in Robshaw was destroyed after that game. It was a fine line between hero and villain. That was through expecting him to make the decision to get a result, and a lack of trust in him, because it didn't work out, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the wrong choice. Just the right choice being poorly executed.

Rob Baxter's tomahawk chopping charges are a new and very welcome face at the top table of English rugby, he's provided a platform for the likes of Cowan-Dickie, Slade, Hill, Nowell and Ewers to flourish and capture the eye of international selectors, and conceivably, they're all young enough and talented enough to be the backbone of the England 2019 World Cup squad..... and continue beyond that.

In the top divisions, good players are ten a penny, good English players are a bit rarer, but still relatively common, coaches with the patience and fortitude to allow a side of kids and journeymen to become a dominant force are as rare as they come. Rob Baxter is probably going to be the main name in the frame to take over the England job after Eddie Jones, but with his amazing record in Exeter, it would be hard to put forward a better option.