Ali Hepher Q&A Special
By Mark Stevens
30/4/20
With no action currently for the Exeter Chiefs, Mark Stevens talked with Head Coach Ali Hepher, about the current situation, the day to day of things for him and his team, together with future plans.
Here is the transcript of our interview
MS: Ali, we find ourselves in very much unprecedented times, how are you and the family coping with it all?
AH: We’re coping alright. Look, we’re lucky we live in a nice part of the world. It’s been nice spending loads of time with the kids. The difficult scenario has been the work one, the frustration that we were gaining some real momentum and now we’ve slowed up, not really knowing when we will get going again. It’s meant it’s been more relaxed in a lot of ways because when we eventually do go back, it’s going to be pretty fast and furious. To be fair, it’s been a nice experience with the kids, they’ve been good, kept us occupied and it’s been quite chilled.
MS: When I spoke to Rob Baxter, he told me he is using the time to reflect on a number of things, including this season - what’s gone well, what can be improved - have you been doing similar?
AH: There are bits and pieces going on, including getting Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, whose coming in, up to speed, so that’s been really useful. There have been bits and pieces to do in terms of reviewing our games, but also looking at other sports and documentaries. I’ve watched a bit of Bill Belickick (coach of the New England Patriots), bit of Tom Brady, bit of England cricket side when they got to the top of the rankings in 2010, just looking for little snippets here and there which maybe in the season you don’t get time to do.
MS: Ali you mention that you were really beginning to get some real momentum in the side, there must have been lots of positives to take and encourage you from the season so far?
AH: As much as anything, we still hadn’t really hit our straps so far and that’s the great thing about our season so far. We’re sat in a very good position and I think there is way more to come from us and that’s the important thing for us to hit when we get back. It’s important we hit the ground running fast, because there is not going to be much of a build-in, it’s going to be ‘let’s go’ and it’s going to be a little bit of a sprint. It will be nice in that sense because we feel there is a lot more to come from us. It will be important to pick up from where we left off, but also add to that as we go through the weeks.
MS: There is the potential that when we could well play rugby in the summer depending on what the Government say, you have said in the past our guys tend to enjoy playing with the sun on their backs?
AH: Pitches nowadays are pretty standard throughout the year, they are good for a lot of the time. You get the odd bog here and there, but the key thing is with the weather is you have less chance of rain in the summer. That will hopefully add to the spectacle and the quality of play. We have got to the stage now where we are comfortable playing in mid-winter, but also very comfortable playing in the summer. Either way, we’d be comfortable. It’s exciting when we do get back, if we have good weather, we can really attack things.
MS: How important is it that you hit the season running straight away?
AH: It’s not straight off the bat, there is still nine plus games to run in, but it’s not going to be like a full season where you can kind of build your momentum. It’s going to be, let’s get up to speed as quickly as possible, let’s make sure we come out of it and use this block as an advantage to us, and we win the battle out of it. Whether that’s fitness, tactically, mentally, whatever it needs to be, let’s make sure we take the most advantages out of this period. So far, I think we are doing it in the right way. We are not going to be overly exhausted, we are going to be energetic by the time we do get back. The guys are doing a lot of training at home, so they will be in good nick, and then it will be about piecing it all back together again once we get back in. That will all happen pretty fast and furious, because we will want to get to games as quickly as possible.
MS: Rob often says his best recruitment is in keeping players you want retained at the club, how excited are you at the group you have moving forward, because a lot of them look as though they are moving into their peak years of their careers?
AH: It’s this era that we have been really working towards. We have been successful so far, but we are also building to an age where we are in a position to win all competitions we are in. It’s exciting times and I’m hugely pleased for the guys that have been retained and kept on. It’s not easy when they have been successful because you have to manage that success individually with piecing it all together as a unit that fits within the salary cap.
As I said, I am pleased for the lads who have come through and really established themselves as Premiership players. People like Flats [Tom O’Flaherty] are a prime example of that. We saw real good progress in him, right the way through the A League initially. You could see his qualities and the amount of fight he has in his game, that’s the biggest attribute I would say he has. You can be confident that guys like that will give you everything at the weekend, so it’s really pleasing we will have them for the next couple of years.
