Baxter's joy as three commit

 

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter insists his squad for next season is taking shape nicely after another three more players committed their futures to the Devon club.

Prop Alex Brown has agreed a new two-year deal with the Aviva Premiership club, whilst fellow forwards Dave Ewers and Tom Cowan-Dickie have each penned terms on new one-year deals.

The news is yet another boost to Baxter, who has made no secret of his desire to hold on to the club's crop of young stock.

"We like to reward guys that take opportunities and who do well for us and these three guys are all in that category," said Baxter. "All of them are young; they've all developed well over the past 12 months, yet we still feel there is more to come from each of them."

Ewers (pictured) is the most experienced of the trio, having featured 26 times for the Chiefs and scoring two tries; whilst Brown – a summer signing from Doncaster Knights – has made eight appearances and Cornishman Cowan-Dickie just one.

Commenting on the deals, Baxter said: "We like to reward guys that take opportunities and who do well for us – and these three guys are all in that category. Dave has just improved in the time he has been at the club and has worked through from having an academy contract to now having a senior contract at the club for the next year.

“It’s a good reward for him and how he has worked and it’s great for us that we will get to see his development and progress over the next year and hopefully longer.

“We are just starting to see the real positives of his game, which are his strength in his ball carrying and his overall work-rate. He’s a big guy who fits in very well, and the kind of back-row forward we like and who we want to develop further.”

As for Brown (pictured), who made his first Premiership start in the recent win at Harlequins, Baxter believes he too can develop further with another two years at Sandy Park.

He added: "Browny is a guy who has come up through the Championship, just like Jack Yeandle, and came here very much on an opportunity contract. It was a contract where he had to show what he could do in the Premiership and in a Premiership environment - and on that front we feel he's doing very well.

“We want to see him develop further and become a good Premiership prop. He’s been a good Championship prop, but the challenge now is to make that next step up. For that to happen we have to make sure he gets plenty of rugby, some of that will be here at Exeter and some of that may be at a loan club, but the important thing is that he keeps developing.”

Likewise, Baxter has been impressed by Cowan-Dickie (pictured), 21, who has seen his 19-year-old sibling (Luke) switch to his position of hooker from prop in recent months. However, the Exeter coach now wants to see him nail down a regular starting berth with a lower-league club to progress his career.

“As for Tom, he has been here for some time in our academy system and he's someone who we are now really starting to see thrive, having had some really good game time down at Plymouth" said Baxter.

"Obviously his brother has been picking up all the headlines recently with his conversion to hooker and the way he has been playing for England Under-20s, but he's in a crucial position at hooker and he has a lot of similar qualities.  Now it’s about him trying to tie down a hooker position at a Championship club and making his mark.

"Again, though, we see a lot of quality in him and feel he is a player that is definitely progressing."