Baxter's backing for TJ

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter says he is delighted to have Tom Johnson at his disposal ahead of Sunday's Aviva Premiership trip to London Irish (3pm).

The all-action flanker was one of 11 players released by England head coach Stuart Lancaster from their training camp ahead of their own Autumn international against South Africa this weekend.

Johnson, who has been an ever-present in the England side since the tour to South Africa in the summer, scored his first try for his country in England's opening international against Fiji a fortnight ago - and was then included in last week's line-up that lost narrowly to Australia at Twickenham.

That defeat, however, has seen Lancaster ring the changes this week and the 30-year-old forward will now be available for Exeter selection, much to the delight of Baxter.

"It is good to see him back around the place and we will involve him at the weekend," said the Chiefs coach. "Initially we weren't expecting to have him around, but to have him back is a big boost. Had he still been away we would have been able to deal with that, simply because we have a lot of back five forwards playing well, but he's going to be with us this weekend and I'm looking forward to him playing some part in the game and perhaps proving some people wrong."

Certainly a fully firing Johnson will be a key asset to the Devon club as they look to record their first-ever victory at the Madejski Stadium.

Baxter added: "Tom's mood has been fantastic and he has trained really well today. He has bags of energy, a smile on his face and the first thing he said to me was that he wanted to get back with the players and get on with training. He has been very positive throughout, but we know he is that type of guy and he has always dealt with these things very well."

Indeed, Baxter is backing the England star to again show his worth and fight his way back into the national reckoning.

"I think Tom's been incredibly unlucky, but sometimes players get dropped on the back of a team performance rather than an individual performance and that is what has happened with him," added Baxter.

"He's in that unfortunate position where he hasn't done anything wrong. He's been away on a tour and been involved with England for a little while now, and most people have been very complimentary about the way he's played. It seems like a couple of weeks ago he was being seen as a bolter for the British Lions tour and now he's back with us.

"Yes, I'm a little upset for Tom - he has been unfortunate - but sometimes these things happen, especially if you are a relatively new player in a squad, which Tom is.  Sometimes it's a bit of last man in, first man out when they've looked to make changes and freshen things up, which I can understand.

"From a coaching perspective, if you have a team that hasn't performed you do look at various ways of changing things. Tom's probably a bit unlucky in that Stuart considers he's got other options in the back row and he wants to make changes."

However, England's loss could certainly be Exeter's significant gain.