White's debt of gratitude to the Chiefs
By Mark Stevens
26/11/21
As Nic White prepares to run out at Twickenham tomorrow for the world-renowned Barbarians, the gifted Australian has highlighted how his time with Exeter Chiefs helped transform his career.
Having come off the bench to help Australia defeat New Zealand to secure the Rugby Championship in 2015, the scrum-half was expected to kick on and ignite a successful Test career.
However, his omission from the Wallabies Rugby World Cup squad a few months later was somewhat of a surprise, leaving the half-back to reassess his options which, as it turned out, would see him travel halfway around the world to France and a new start with Montpellier, where he would help them lift the European Challenge Cup in his first season.
Life in France was sound enough for White, but when the Chiefs came knocking a year later, the Scone-born back was hell-bent on a new challenge in Devon. And, as it would prove, it would be life-changing in so many ways for both White and wife Melissa.
He was an instant hit at Sandy Park, proving to be a key cog in Rob Baxter’s squad, both on and off the field. But in the back of his mind there was always that burning desire to represent his country again.
His on-field form remained as electric as ever and was duly rewarded with a recall to the Wallabies squad for the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Part of his inclusion, however, included a proviso that he would return home and feature once again for former club, the Brumbies.
It meant he would depart the Chiefs just as the country came out of the first Covid lockdown. Back in his native Oz, White would watch on as his former team-mates would enjoy their greatest hour, lifting both the Heineken Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership titles in successive weeks.
White would receive winners’ medals from the club for his earlier involvement that season - plus he would also enjoy the sweet taste of success back home as the Brumbies lifted the Super Rugby AU title.
Since then, he has continued to deliver for both club and country, producing some eye-catching displays during their recent Autumn Nations Series. Tomorrow, he will round it off with one final outing in England, starting for the Baa-Baas against Samoa.
It’s been a hell of a ride, but one which White insists is far from over.
“Personally, I have put in a lot of hard work this year and things are starting to turn around for us as a team [Australia] and for me,” he told Talking Rugby Union. “I have never shied away from saying that my time in England with [Exeter] Chiefs certainly turned my whole career around. I felt like I was plateauing and my time with the Chiefs certainly helped me go to the next level with my game and reignited my international career.
“A lot of what I have worked on from then is what I am taking forward each and every season. I felt this year I went up another gear and I feel like my rugby has been getting better and better over the last few years since I started with Exeter.
“I do try and tune in when I can!” White says as he continues to reminisce about his three years at Exeter.
“Sometimes it might be late into the night, but I am up here this weekend so I will watch them against Bath on Friday! I would have loved to be able to get down and watch a game. I still watch it [the Premiership] quite a bit and I am still in contact with a lot of the guys quite frequently.
“Exeter was a pretty special time for me and my family. We had our two little boys down there and as I say, the club had a huge impact on my rugby career.”
For a cluster of the Baa-Baas squad selected by White’s international boss Dave Rennie, they have been on the road for five months playing for their respective countries in The Rugby Championship before their northern hemisphere tours.
With professional athletes having to follow strict Covid-19 guidelines - coupled with being thousands of miles away from home - White admits this year has been challenging at times, but he is excited to end 2021 as a member of the Baa-Baas family.
“It is an awesome way to finish what has been a long and tough year for the majority of boys from down south that are part of this group,” he says. “A lot of us dream of playing for the Baa-Baas. You have got to be invited and to be invited is a huge honour so we have had a bit of good fun this week!
“I am not the only one with young kids and a young family. We understand that it is all part of the job we have to do at the moment. Going on the road, if that is what it takes to get a game on the field, then we are happy to do it but it certainly does take its toll. We know the finishing line is right there and like I said before, I couldn’t think of a better way to round off a pretty difficult year than with a Baa-Baas week. I would quite happily finish every year with a Baa-Baas week if I could!”