Team news: Wolstenholme captains young side in Bath cup match

Exeter Chiefs return to PREM Rugby Cup action tomorrow at Sandy Park as a young side come up against West Country rivals, Bath Rugby.

The average age of the starting XV is 23, with four players in line to make their competitive debut. Scrum-half Sam Wolstenholme captains the side with a notable return from injury for winger Paul Brown-Bampoe.

Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “Right here and now, the cup block becomes the single most important thing. It’s the thing we can use to try to build some positive momentum, positive performance and thicken the squad. It gets genuine game-time into players that could well be options for over the rest of the season.

“It’s the opportunity for players to put their hands up for selection to the front-line team and try to improve things. We’re certainly going to be focused on, not just winning games of rugby, but playing as well as we can.”

Loosehead prop Archie McArthur, who joined Chiefs in the summer from Gloucester Rugby, makes his debut in the front-row. He packs down with hooker Louie Gulley and tighthead prop Ehren Painter, who marks his return to competitive fixtures after 18 months on the injured list.

Lewis Pearson brings experience to a second-row pairing with Oscar Beckerleg, one of 10 players in the squad to have graduated through Chiefs’ player pathway at the University of Exeter’s EURFC.

One week on from making his Gallagher PREM debut, Joe Bailey slots into the back-row at blindside flanker. Finn Worley Brady mans the opposite flank with Carwyn Tuipulotu making his maiden run-out in the No 8 shirt.

As Wolstenholme wears the captain’s armband, he partners up with fly-half Ben Coen. In the centre-field, Zack Wimbush returns to the starting line-up with Nick Lilley.

Brown-Bampoe makes his return on the right wing with Ben Hammersley running along the left and Will Haydon-Wood retaining the full-back shirt.

Baxter added: “It’s a changed-up squad, a mixture of senior and younger boys who we’d like to give more game-time opportunities to. If we can rest some players, heal a couple of small injuries and get some key senior players back on the pitch injury-free, then I would like to think we can come out of the cup block with some momentum and freshness to be ready to attack the middle block of the season.

“And that’s what we’re going to have to do if we’re targeting the end of the season. At some stage, we’re going to have to put our foot down on the pedal.”

The replacement front-row totals 80 Chiefs appearances between them, the most experienced section of the bench. Hooker Julian Heaven joins props Ethan Burger and Jimmy Roots. Debutants, Obinna Nkwocha and André Goedhals, cover the second and back-row.

Scrum-half Jake Murray could join his former EURFC half-back partner Coen on an Exeter pitch if he appears from the bench. Ollie Batson and Sam Harris round out the 23 covering the remainder of the backline.

The game kicks off at 15:00 in Devon live on PREM Rugby’s YouTube channel. Match tickets are also still available here.