Welch warms up for Welsh test

By Mark Stevens
9/8/2016

Damian Welch is expecting former club Scarlets to offer Exeter Chiefs a testing work-out in their opening pre-season fixture this Saturday (3pm).

The towering lock spent three years at the Parc Y Scarlets before heading to Sandy Park during the summer of 2012, where he has since established himself as a key figure within Rob Baxter’s first team plans.

With 88 appearances already to his name for the Devon club, the 34-year-old forward is hoping to kick-off the 2016/17 season on a high note by helping the Chiefs to see off the Welsh region.

The Chiefs endured their best-ever campaign last term, finishing runners-up to Saracens in the Aviva Premiership, whilst also reaching the last eight of the European Champions Cup for the first time.

Those impressive statistics mean expectation levels will have risen for Rob Baxter’s side and Welch knows the Chiefs will have all and sundry looking to shoot them down in battle this season.

“It’s important to hit the ground running after a hard pre-season and take the work we have done so far into these pre-season games,” said Welch. “There is not much point doing the hard slog like we have, if you don’t then back it up in performances on the pitch.

“Traditionally we like to start every season well and for us that begins this weekend against the Scarlets. We know they will be a decent test for us, the Welsh regions always tend to up their game a bit when they play the English sides, so we should expect a tough game.

“I know from my own experience of playing at the Scarlets that they are a good club, they are well run, they have quality players and they always play with a lot of heart.”

With last year’s Rugby World Cup now a distant memory, the Chiefs will this season return to a more traditional pre-season programme where they will tackle opposition from other leagues, rather than that of the English top flight where Gloucester and Bath joined Exeter in a round-robin Westcountry Challenge Cup 12 months ago.

“It will be interesting to get back into that more traditional pre-season format,” added Welch. “As I said, we have got three really good tests over these next few weeks with the Scarlets, Ulster and then the Dragons. We know every one of those sides will offer something different in terms of the challenge, so as a group we have to be ready to match that threat and get ourselves ready for those opening weeks of the Premiership.”

However, after a gruelling, yet shorter, pre-season build-up, Welch and his fellow Chiefs cannot wait to get stuck into the action as they look to lay down their own foundations in front of Baxter and his fellow coaches.

“Of course the gym stuff is important and coaches do look at that, but we are here as rugby players not gym monkeys,” he said. “There is no point being a monster in the gym if you can’t back it up on the pitch. That is where it counts ultimately and every one of us wants to get out there and show what we can do.

“If you look at the squad, there is competition right across the board. Everyone wants that starting jersey and is driven by that, so it’s down to all of us - myself included - to get out there this weekend, push my case and see where I stack up against the rest of the guys.”

And with not too many changes to personnel in the Exeter ranks, Welch is expecting the continuity of the squad to come through and ensure the Chiefs can continue to prosper on all fronts.

“I think that’s been one of the secrets to our success over the years,” continued Welch. “The playing squad evolves each year rather than wholesale changes. You can see from the signings made in the last few years that we’re bringing in quality players to boost specific areas and not making wholesale changes for the sake of it.

“That will always help any side and means that come the start of the season, pretty much every guy knows their role and what is expected of them.”