Exeter's remarkable rise from the championship to third place in the Premiership in less than 18 months was reflected on Monday in the club's decision to give new three-year deals to Rob Baxter and his coaching team.

"I really wanted to keep them all," said Exeter's chief executive, Tony Rowe, after signing up the head coach Baxter, his assistant Ali Hepher, the skills coach Ricky Pellow, the academy coach Rob Gibson and the team manager Robin Cowling.

The deals were announced after Exeter had gone to the top in their Amlin Cup group by taking the unbeaten record of Newport Gwent Dragons. Exeter are now a point ahead of the Dragons in second place, level on points with Perpignan. In the Aviva Premiership they are level on points with London Irish, leading a pack of five clubs separated by two points.

"I am so pleased that I've finished negotiating an extension on all their contracts because I really wanted to keep them all," said Rowe. "It's a fantastic coaching team and as you try to progress the most difficult thing is to get hold of a good coaching team. But I've got one, and I am the first to acknowledge the effort they have put in. It's an awesome group, and I consider it quite a coup to have kept them all."

The Heineken Cup will attract a crowd of more than 40,000 for the second successive Saturday when the defending champions Leinster and Bath meet in Dublin. There were 41,063 fans at Wembley Stadium watching Saracens beat the Ospreys 31-26 in the third round of pool matches – the fifth-highest pool match attendance in the 17 seasons of the tournament – and advance sales for Leinster versus Bath are already at around 43,000.

Leinster are unbeaten at the Amlin Cup unbeaten in their past nine Heineken Cup games, the only blemish the 16-16 draw at Montpellier in the opening round. At the halfway stage of the group games there are only three clubs left with three wins from three starts, twice winners Munster, the four‑times champions Toulouse and Cardiff Blues.