Norey enjoying the highs of his ‘whirlwind’ season

From growing up watching Chiefs compete in the top four on a regular basis to fighting for it himself just a fortnight on from scoring a try at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. A season that began in the rehab room may yet finish with a play-off berth for hooker Max Norey.

“For me personally, you could say it’s been a bit of a ‘whirlwind’,” Norey chuckles when asked if he can attempt to sum up his season so far.

“At the start of the season I was rehabbing a shoulder injury. I got a chance in the Prem Rugby Cup, played a few games in that competition consecutively but I got a whack in the hip and was out injured again!

“So, to have come from all of that to be back in the team again, sitting here preparing for this weekend, it’s been an up and down journey. A whirlwind.”

The aforementioned first injury was a shoulder issue and unfortunately wasn’t the first time Norey had injured the area, so he ploughed through the rehab process with a concentrated dedication, returning to the field for Chiefs’ domestic cup match against Sale Sharks in January.

It is quite the accelerated progression to go from back-to-back injuries to scoring a try at the home of English Rugby. And Norey is shocked to find out the quirky fact that he is only the second Chiefs hooker to ever score at the stadium.

He said: “Me? I didn’t know that! Can I try to guess who the other one is?”

He’s less impressed to find out the other player is none other than his club captain.

He jokes: “It’s not Jack Yeandle, no way! I would’ve guessed Luke Cowan-Dickie. It feels great to have scored, especially with it being my first time playing there. It was a shame about the result, but it was a good experience.”

Norey’s run of games at hooker has occurred in sync with the return of heavyweights Scott Sio and Josh Iosefa-Scott to the Chiefs pack. Between them, the two props have more than 170 games in all competitions for Chiefs, so it’s fair to assume they are a useful pair to pack down with?

Norey agrees: “They help me out a lot in the scrum. Obviously, someone like Scotty who has been in the game for a long time now, played in some really big games, he tries to teach you little tricks on how to approach things. They’re both experienced, strong around their set piece and good around the park so it’s enjoyable to play with them and learn from them.”

The Chiefs pack has housed a fair number of new faces this season. New signings have combined with more established names while youngsters the likes of Finn Worley Brady have muscled their way into the first team with impressive performances when tested.

As a key lineout operator, what has it been like for the likes of Norey to know they’re throwing to Italian international Andrea Zambonin or heading into a breakdown with Wallabies back-rower Tom Hooper?

He said: “I think it’s been massive having them. Especially around areas like set piece, but also with things that an outside may not see like, for example, the way Hoops [Tom Hooper] hits a maul and gets it on the front foot. Little things like that, you don’t always realise how big of an impact they have on the game.

“Then boys like Zambo [Andrea Zambonin], he’s now calling the lineout which makes things a lot easier. Len Ikitau’s come in and provided a bit of a glue in the midfield. All the new boys have made a noticeable impact.”

It has been evident that a refresh of sorts has taken place in the Exeter ranks this season. There seems to be a cohesiveness across a number of areas of the game. If Norey had to put his finger on one main contributing factor, what would it be?

He said: “I think Dave Walder coming in to refresh our attack, introducing a new way of doing things and boys have really bought into that, fully committed to it. We’re going out there and trying to show what we do in the week in a game.

“We’ve always been a tight group of lads, but I think it’s only natural that the whole morale and energy of the group goes up with a good run of games. Some of our results early on changed the trajectory of the season.”

Chiefs will certainly be hoping for a strong result at Mattioli Woods Welford Road this weekend. A dominant Leicester Tigers team, who sit one position and seven points above Chiefs in the Gallagher PREM table, are yet to be bested at home this season. What could possibly be the game-plan for a fixture of that magnitude this late in the season?

Norey grins: “Can’t tell you that. Imagine if I told you and the cloud on your phone was hacked!

“No, in all seriousness, we know they are a physical side. They like to impose themselves at set piece, so we’ve got to make sure we’re disciplined in the middle third. Defensively, we don’t want to be giving away penalties and in attack, we don’t want them able to get over the ball at the breakdown.

“We don’t want to be playing just to stay in the top four, we want to see where we can get to if we’re attacking things consistently and trying to look forward.”

A result at Leicester won’t have Chiefs resting on their laurels, however. The regular season will reach its conclusion next weekend with an almighty clash. Exeter Chiefs will host Saracens at Sandy Park with potentially a top four spot on the line for one of the two sides.

Will the old rivalry be reignited?

Norey said: “I was kind of around in the gritty days of the rivalry, the years when we lost to them in finals. I was just a young academy lad then, but I can understand why games like this to players like Henry Slade, Jack Yeandle and Rob [Baxter], mean so much.

“Any game here at Sandy Park is big, but Saracens especially in the last game of the season, it probably could get a little spicy, I suppose you could say.”