Braves side to face Bath
By Mark Stevens
9/9/18
Ricky Pellow wants his Exeter Braves side to build on Monday’s night impressive Premiership Shield win when they face Bath United at Sandy Park today (2:30pm).
Last season’s beaten finalists in the A League kicked-off their latest campaign in style, recording a 47-24 success at Allianz Park.
It was the perfect start for Pellow and his players, who will now be looking to replicate the fortunes of the club’s first team, who themselves had netted two wins from two games, when they tackle a Bath outfit who lost their opener against Bristol 30-21.
And it’s a powerful array of talent that Pellow has at it his disposal as he welcomes back a glut of frontline stars to his line-up.
England and British Lions winger Jack Nowell heads up that list as he plays his first game since the Premiership Final back in May, but he’s joined in the starting ranks by Ben Moon, Dave Dennis, Dave Ewers and Sam Hill.
The quintet are all desperate for game time having not featured in pre-season and they join the likes of James Freeman, Tom Lawday, Michele Campagnaro and Max Bodilly, all of whom featured in London at the start of the week.
Looking ahead to the clash, Pellow said: “It’s really important we recreate all the positive actions that we produced on Monday up at Saracens. That was a really positive from the guys and to put 40 points on any Saracens side is a massive achievement.
“Now, we’ve got to go out again on Sunday and back that up with an equally strong performance. We need to show the same skill, pace and physicality that we showed on Monday. We know there are still things that we need to work on in terms of our game, but a lot of what we did against Saracens is what we talked about beforehand and then went out and showed on the field.”
With competition for places within the Chiefs squad red-hot, Pellow acknowledges it’s up to those given the shirt this afternoon to put their hands up and show the watching Rob Baxter and his fellow coaches what they are all about.
“Both sides started the season with wins last week and then the Chiefs backed that up again on Saturday at Wasps,” added Pellow. “What we can’t expect is things just to happen, you have to work incredibly hard for everything and that’s what we will be telling the players.
“We’ve got a really experienced side, coupled with a good mix of young players, but that doesn’t guarantee you a performance. Everyone has to be willing to work for one another and that’s when you’ll get your rewards.”
Season Ticket Holders, 1905 Club and Gold Card members can gain FREE entry for today’s game, admission for all others is £10 for adults and £5 for U16s and Students.
Parking is available at Sandy Park on a first come, first served basis - please note the parking charges will apply.
BRAVES SIDE TO FACE BATH UNITED
15 Max Bodilly
14 Jack Nowell
13 Michele Campagnaro
12 Sam Hill
11 Tom O’Flaherty
10 Sam Morley
9 Sam Maunder
1 Ben Moon
2 Jack Innard
3 Marcus Street
4 Dave Dennis
5 Wilhelm Van Der Sluys
6 Dave Ewers
7 James Freeman (capt)
8 Tom Lawday
16 Elvis Taione
17 Billy Keast
18 Jack Owlett
19 Richard Capstick
20 Rus Trima
21 Joe Snow
22 Tom Hendrickson
23 James Short