Exeter have given voice to rugby's simmering sense of injustice over the Government's inconsistent crowd capacity policy, ahead of what is looming as a hollow occasion at Twickenham on Saturday.
Thousands of tickets to the Premiership final had to be hurriedly cancelled last week after it was decreed by Westminster that the crowd for the domestic showpiece would be limited to just 10,000 fans because of Covid.
The sense of anger over what appears to be unfair treatment grew yesterday, after it emerged that crowds of at least 60,000 would be allowed to watch the final stages of the Euro 2020 tournament at Wembley.
Thousands of tickets were hastily cancelled for this weekend's Premiership final due to Covid
Rob Baxter questioned the harsh treatment compared to tournaments like Euro 2020
The disparity between the restrictions imposed at two different national stadiums in London has created a mood of unrest.
As the Chiefs prepare to defend their title against Harlequins — in a sixth successive Premiership decider — they spoke out against the imbalance.
Firstly, director of rugby Rob Baxter tried to strike an upbeat tone about the fact that there would be anyone in attendance at all, after so many months of fixtures being played behind closed doors.
He said: 'It is fantastic there are some supporters there because we had two finals and two semi-finals with zero supporters there last year.
'We are in a scenario where you have got to take the positives and 10,000 there is better than no-one there.'
However, with Exeter and Quins set to lock horns in front of 72,000 empty seats, he added: 'I don't think anyone in rugby isn't shaking their heads a little bit when they see the crowd numbers at other sporting events both now and very quickly — considering you are talking about 82,000 (capacity) at Twickenham.
'Virtually
