Baxter's joy at new deal for Ewers

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter believes Dave Ewers can become a force for both club and country over the next two years and has vowed to help further develop the powerful back-row forward.

After several weeks of behind the scenes discussions, 23-year-old Ewers today agreed new terms with Baxter on a deal that will keep him in situe at Sandy Park for at least the next two years.

In the past month alone Baxter has already tied down the futures of current Chiefs Dean Mumm, Damian Welch, Jack Yeandle, Ian Whitten and Tom Johnson, as well as adding England international Thomas Waldrom from Aviva Premiership rivals Leicester Tigers.

However, keeping hold of the highly-rated Ewers is another boost for the Devon club as they look to the future.

"We're really pleased as Dave has been very good for us this year," said Baxter. "He has come through our Academy system over the last few years, but he has really stepped up in the last six months and that has all been capped off with his call-up to the England Saxons. From our perspective, we feel we have a player who is very good now, but he is a player who we feel is only going to get better with time.

"Dave has a good attitude; he's a good guy on and off the field, so it's positive all round for us. I think what he - and a few of the other young guys have shown this season - is that you can get England recognition playing here at Exeter. What we want to do now is help develop his game so that he has success not only with us, but also at an international level too."

As Baxter knows, competition for places within the Exeter and England back-rows will be intense and it will be up to the Harare-born youngster to lay down his marker and continue to shine.

"Where he plays is a competitive area, not just here at Exeter, but also for England as well," added Baxter. "What he has done, though, is he has started to step up and he's like a lot of the young guys here, he is gaining experience and using that very well. What you will find going forward is that Dave will go through periods as he's playing when he will go through moments when he goes through big leaps and then moments when there is steady progress.

"Take this season for example, he has just experienced a full Heineken Cup campaign for the first time and I know for a fact that he will be a better player for that. By the end of this season, he will also have put to bed a full Premiership campaign and he will be a better player for that. He will also have had experience with the Saxons, so everything is very positive about how he is going to gain that experience.

"As we know, he's a big strong guy and offers a real physical presence in there as a well, so from that perspective he has a lot of attributes that complete the package for him as a back-row forward. As I said, our aim now is to help develop him further and make sure he has that success with us as a club and at international level."