There have been weakened teams left, right and centre since the season resumed. There's an element of luck of the draw to it, and it worked nicely in our favour against Bristol. Was expected to go against us at Sarries, but that turned out OK! It's a squad game and clubs can pick anyone who is eligible. I still expect Exeter to bring a bit of a hybrid team to the Ricoh. And Baxter's dead right, they have 100% earned the right to go with whatever selection they choose and manage their players through the remaining games as they see fit.
On a side note, but not unrelated to the need to manage squads effectively, just seen Manu's out for 6 months. Seem to remember a number of comments at the time of his move to Sale that it was a lot of money (reportedly) for someone who will spend more time injured than fit. Thought it was a bad bit of business for Sale at the time and so it has turned out. My perception is that through the busy schedule in recent weeks, Sale have been less inclined to rotate than others, and they do seem to have picked up a number of injuries recently. Coincidence?