Chiefs side to face Irish
By Mark Stevens
12/2/21
After back-to-back wins on the road against Worcester Warriors and Newcastle Falcons, Rob Baxter’s Exeter Chiefs side are hoping their rich vein of form will continue when they entertain London Irish in the Gallagher Premiership tomorrow (4:15pm).
Seemingly refreshed and revived following last month’s enforced break, the defending champions have not only rediscovered their winning formula, but with it an inner steel that Baxter believes can drive them onwards and upwards.
“From a coaching perspective - and I know a lot of people will listen to this and think it doesn’t make any sense - but from a pride in your players’ attitudes and the way they have dealt with scenarios over last two weeks, I have been really proud of the lads,” said the Chiefs’ Director of Rugby.
“I’ve come away having watched the games with a feeling that they have something special about them. More so than earlier in the season when we put in a couple of performances, where we were so dominant. Of course they were great and it’s nice to sit back with 20 minutes left knowing the job is done.
“However, the truth is when you review games you want to see that deep-rooted feeling that your players are willing to stand there and fight for one another and that it means something to them. That only happens when it gets tough, when it gets tight, and when it gets edgy and nervy. We have been that for the last two weeks, I know we have.
“We didn’t perform great against Wasps and Bristol, we know that. Equally, the lads will know people will see them as two of our biggest rivals this season and that because we lost those games, people were asking ‘are things not right at Exeter?’
“I don’t mind saying, there were things we could have done better around the Covid situation, European games been cancelled, international rest periods, but that enforced break last month did allow us to reset ourselves. It allowed us to have a three-week period, much longer than what we had in pre-season, where we got things out in the open, cleared our heads and really prepped for that Worcester game like it was the first game of a season.
“It wasn’t brilliant, it didn’t necessarily feel great, but being scratchy like that is kind of what it is like at the start of a new season. What the last few weeks have given us, though, is some great foundations from which to build from. “
Baxter added: “Anyone who thinks we don’t have any fight in us, all they need to do is look at the Newcastle hooker tap and go from a penalty just before half time and see what happens. He doesn’t get anywhere near the line because we’ve got a number of guys, all of whom are committed to getting off the line and wanting to stop him.
“Was last week perfect? Of course it wasn’t. We had missed passes, dropped balls, odd errors here and there, but what you also saw was a group of who were willing to throw everything into collisions, into defence, and work extremely hard for one another. It’s those qualities what make me incredibly proud and confident of what we can achieve going forward.
“I want us to come out of this next seven, eight weeks in and about where we want to be. That way, when we get the full group back, people feeling good about themselves and conditions having improved, I think we can look forward to a really exciting last third of the season.
“Right now, though, we are in that dogfight part of the season, where conditions are variable and you have people coming and going. This is where we need to stand up and be counted!”
And one player who has been shunted here and there in recent weeks is prop Harry Williams, who having been released from the England squad earlier this week, returns to the Chiefs front-row in one of three changes Baxter has made to his starting line-up.
The tight-head comes in to replace Marcus Street, who drops to the bench, whilst the other two changes see Tom Hendrickson and Josh Hodge added to the back division in place of Ian Whitten and Facundo Cordero.
Baxter says he is ‘delighted’ to have Williams back in the mix, even if it means the former Jersey forward is missing out on performing at the highest level.
“It’s one of those bittersweet things because the reality is we all kind of feel for Harry when he gets brought out the international environment because we all rate him very highly here,” said Baxter.
“Our preference would much be for him to be with England. We know he is desperate to play as high a level of rugby as he can and desperate to play for England. It feels great for us on a team perspective to have him back in our side, but there is always that hint of disappointment when one of your players who is currently in the international environment gets dropped back out of it.
“Personally, it’s great for us and a little bit of a shame for Harry. But the really nice thing when you talk to Harry is he comes at you the minute he gets told he is leaving the England camp. I say, ‘Alright, Harry how are you, how have things gone?’ And he doesn’t whinge or moan, he just goes, ‘Please pick me this weekend’.
“It’s a nice scenario to be in. He doesn’t go, ‘Can you please give me a rest this weekend?’ Every time he speaks to me after he gets released he goes, ‘Can you pick me this weekend? I’m desperate to play’. Whether that is one day’s preparation or whether it is a full week, he is a great character to have back in the team.”
And having Williams back against the Exiles this weekend is a major boost for Baxter, who has offered a timely note of caution against the threat posed by Declan Kidney’s side.
“They are a good side,” he warned. “They’ll be tough, just as it always is in the Premiership, They beat us last time they were here. Yes, we had a changed up side that day, but they’ve got a changed up side themselves and they are coming here on a good run of form and a real confidence about them.
“As I’ve said to the lads this week, we’re going to have to be prepare to stand up and fight and literally scrap for everything. I don’t mind saying, if we were to come away with a similar result to the last few weeks, I’ll be delighted because that is what it is all about.
“It’s the teams that are willing to work the hardest now the will ultimately come through at the end.”
CHIEFS SIDE TO FACE LONDON IRISH
15 Josh Hodge
14 Alex Cuthbert
13 Tom Hendrickson
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Joe Simmonds
9 Jack Maunder
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Jack Yeandle (capt)
3 Harry Williams
4 Will Witty
5 Sam Skinner
6 Dave Ewers
7 Richard Capstick
8 Sam Simmonds
16 Jack Innard
17 James Kenny
18 Marcus Street
19 Don Armand
20 Sean Lonsdale
21 Stu Townsend
22 Harvey Skinner
23 Ian Whitten