Johnson and Welch sign on

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter has spoken of his delight after two more of his senior players today agreed new terms with the Aviva Premiership club.

England international Tom Johnson has put pen to paper on a new three-year contract, while fellow forward Damian Welch has extended his stay in Devon for a further two years.

This latest news is yet another welcome boost for Baxter, who in recent weeks has also tied down the futures of Jack Yeandle, Ian Whitten and also skipper Dean Mumm until 2016.

And for Baxter retaining the services of a number of his current group is paramount he says for the future progression of the Chiefs. In the past the Chiefs leader has made no secret of the emphasis he puts on retention of players, so this latest news comes as a welcome boost ahead of this weekend’s trip to London Wasps in the top flight.

“Obviously we’re delighted to have both TJ and Damian on board with us for the foreseeable future,” said Baxter. “Both are senior members of the squad and very important players in terms of the first team.

“TJ has been playing here for a number of years now and we’re obviously really pleased to tie him down for a further three years. We feel very confident he is playing well and is at the top of his game right now. That said, he is a guy that is still learning from his time in the Premiership, the Heineken Cup and also his international career, so we regard him as an important player for us.

“I think he’s a great example of what can happen if you get your head down and work hard in everything you do. We had a good look at him when he was at Coventry all those years ago and since we’ve brought him, he’s just continued to thrive both in the Championship and the Premiership.

“As I said, he shows that it doesn’t matter where you start playing your rugby, if you’re prepare to work hard – both individually and within a team – which is what TJ has done, then some big things come for you.

“Our hope is that he can continue to show the form that will keep him in the England squad. On form we feel he is playing as well as any back-row forward in the Premiership, so we’re delighted to have him on board.”

Likewise, Baxter has been equally impressed by the former shown by Welch, who joined the Chiefs at the start of the 2011/12 season from the Scarlets.

After a somewhat slow start to his Exeter career – mainly due to the exceptional form of Tom Hayes and James Hanks – Welch has since gone on to showcase his own talents, both in the Premiership and Europe.

Baxter said: “He’s one of the guys who has thrived with regular game time. We were always very aware of his athletic ability, that’s why we tracked him for as long as we did because the bits and pieces were there to come through as a very good Premiership performer.

“What we’re seeing with his gradual improvement now is that he’s really knuckling down to his set-piece work, which has to come first. He is a galloping runner and he can score tries that other second rows can’t, but first and foremost he has to get that set-piece right.

“You’ve got to take real pride in the calling of line-outs and his work as a tight-head scrummaging lock. That’s where we’re seeing his biggest improvement.

“Like a few of the other guys, we’re really pleased because we feel there’s a fair bit more improvement going on as games go by. He’s not having an absolute flying performance every week, but over time the quality of his performances are improving.

“That’s the key when you do your recruitment and retention, seeing where players are going not just where they are now. We’re very comfortable that there’s a lot more to come from Damian and we’ll see more from him in the future.”