Exposure is key, says Pellow

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs skills coach Ricky Pellow insists the club's youngsters who featured in the JP Morgan Sevens Series will have benefitted greatly from the exposure they received.

On the opening night of the competition at Gloucester's Kingsholm Stadium, the Chiefs sadly bowed out at the first stage as they were undone by rivals Worcester Warriors, Gloucester and Bath.

Although winless in all three of their fixtures, Pellow insisted there were plenty of positives to take away from the evening, which was watched by a crowd of almost 13,000.

"It was another learning curve for all of the guys, but we'll certainly take positives from the night," said Pellow. "Yes, we're a bit disappointed in the amount of points we got and where we finished in the table, but that said we were in it right until the very last game and the effort and commitment the guys put in was outstanding."

Having kicked off with an opening game defeat to Worcester, the Chiefs were then undone with the very last play of the game against Bath in their second outing. Even then the night was not lost for Pellow's side as a four-try victory in their final game could well have seen them advance to Finals Night as runners-up to the Warriors.

Sadly it was not to be as Gloucester booked their place in the final by emerging victorious in the last game of the evening.

"We started slowly in the first game [against Worcester] and we were always chasing our tails," explained Pellow. "The next two games, though, they could easily have gone either way. One of the positives we took from the night was that we improved and we got better as the night went on.

"The lessons we have learnt from it all is that 30 seconds in Sevens is a very long time. Against Bath we were holding the lead, but then they went and scored with the very last play of the game. Had we won that game, I think that would have put in a great position going into the Gloucester game.

"Again, though, both Ben Vellacott and Rob Coote made clean breaks against Gloucester, but they got back, they turned us over and then went down the other end and scored points. Sevens is a great game, but at times it can be brutual and that was something I think our guys will take from the night.

"As I said, it has been a learning curve for all of them, but now the challenge is how they will react when they get put in similar positions in the future."

As well as some impressive on-field actions, Pellow - who was assisted in the coaching by current Chiefs winger Matt Jess (pictured) - said the return to action of skipper Jack Arnott after a long-term shoulder injury, together with the displays of 17-year-old Stuart Townsend were massive plus points for the Devon club.

"It was great to see Jack back playing again," said Pellow. "He played with his heart on his sleeves and I'm sure he will have got plenty of confidence from being out there that he can now use moving into the pre-season games and the season itself.

"Also Stu Townsend, I thought, was outstanding. For a 17-year-old to come in and show that kind of energy and enthusiasm to play was great and very pleasing for us as coaches."

Pellow insists the JP Morgan Sevens Series is of great value to the Premiership and the Chiefs and that the fact there were 13,000 in attendance at Kingsholm underlines the popularity it holds with supporters.

"I think this shows how exciting the tournament is," added Pellow. "Every year it seems to be growing and for us as a club it's a great chance to blood some of our younger guys into the big-match atmospheres."