Team news: Youth and experience combine for Chiefs side to face Cornwall

An Exeter Chiefs XV side hosts a mix of youth and experience as the team led by Lewis Pearson take on Cornwall RFC in a friendly at Sandy Park on Saturday afternoon.

A month on from making his much-anticipated return, tighthead prop Ehren Painter also features in the starting line-up.

Both products of the Chiefs player pathway at EURFC, George Newman and Ben Coen form the half-back pairing while Nick Lilley and Zack Wimbush bring PREM Rugby experience to the midfield.

Discussing the merits of the friendly fixture, Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter, said: “These games against Cornwall offer us a fantastic opportunity to use some of our squad and young, developing players in a really competitive fixture.

“Cornwall always travel well and bring lots of support with them. They’re a hugely important team in our region both in terms of the support they gain from the local rugby community but also due to the fantastic work the clubs in Cornwall are doing to provide opportunities for young men to play sport and rugby, in particular.

“We really do like the fact we can support them in their programme as they build towards the county championship.”

The game will be livestreamed on the Exeter Chiefs YouTube channel.

After an impressive season in the Champ with Cornish Pirates, hooker Sol Moody returns to Chiefs colours. Meanwhile exciting young academy prospects Oisin Smith, Harry Westlake and Alfie Johns all earn their places in the back-row.

Chiefs U18s’ captain Mawgan Talling is named on the bench alongside academy teammates Charlie Bosanko and Alex Evans.

The game kicks off at 13:30 in Devon with match tickets available on our website here.

Season ticket holders can get a ticket for an exclusive price of £5 by logging into their TicketHub account.

Exeter Chiefs:

15 Nic Allison

14 Ollie Batson

13 Zack Wimbush

12 Nick Lilley

11 Troy Jackson

10 Ben Coen

9 George Newman

1 Ratu Peni Talogaivau

2 Sol Moody

3 Ehren Painter

4 Lewis Pearson (c)

5 Oscar Beckerleg

6 Oisin Smith

7 Harry Westlake

8 Alfie Johns

Replacements:

Dexter Randle

Mawgan Talling

Isaac Godfrey

Josh Bratt

Marlon Farouk-Roy

Luke Evans

Harry Woodman

Alex Evans

Will Lane

Charlie Bosanko

Brandon Mua

Joshua Golden Clarke