Chiefs side to face Irish
By Mark Stevens
28/1/22
With European matters put on the back burner until April, it’s full steam ahead in the Gallagher Premiership for Rob Baxter and his Exeter Chiefs side.
Tomorrow, the Chiefs head to the capital, poised to tackle London Irish in Round 14 of the competition (3pm).
It kicks-off a significant period in the seasonal calendar for the Devonians, one which Baxter knows will be imperative in terms of where his team will ultimately end up in the final shake-up.
Currently five points adrift of the final play-off berth occupied by Gloucester, the Chiefs know they can ill afford to slip too far behind those clubs occupying the top four places. However, Baxter is acutely aware of the challenge that lies ahead.
“We are kind of refocusing ourselves a little bit,” said the Chiefs’ Director of Rugby. “We’ve not sat down this week and talked a huge amount about points or league positions, it’s been more about getting guys in the right frame of mind of just where we are. The reality is that for some of them they are almost still learning to be an Exeter Chief.
“A few of them have still had relatively little in an Exeter Chiefs shirt, so it’s about using every game as that maximal exposure to being an Exeter Chief and being a player who can play Premiership Rugby at a high level. Therefore, we have only really focused on making sure that we are trying to put the game on the field that we are comfortable with.
“I used to talk a lot about this in our first four or five years in the Premiership, making sure that whatever happens on the Saturday or the Sunday, whenever the game is, we are a better team for the performance. That way we don’t come away and just look at each other and say ‘that was disappointing’. I’d rather we look at each other and say we are either pleased or disappointed with the result, but we’re in a better place now because we feel we are a better team.
“Then, when we come back on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we’re a slightly better team for that next weekend. That’s the kind of performance curve I want us to get back on because we’ve kind of slipped off that in the past six to 12 months. If I’m honest, regardless of whatever team we have put out on the pitch, we probably haven’t improved as a team every game and I really want to make sure that becomes our driving force.”
With the Guinness Six Nations Championship set to get underway imminently, Baxter will travel to the Brentford Community Stadium without six of his Test stars called up. Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jonny Hill, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds and Henry Slade are all entrenched into England’s pre-tournament training camp, whilst Christ Tshiunza is in isolation after reporting into the Wales camp with Covid.
Thankfully, the Scottish trio of Jonny Gray, Stuart Hogg and Sam Skinner are all available tomorrow and take their place in the travelling Chiefs squad for this week.
They will, however, return North of the Border on Monday and will be missing for much of the next six weeks, forcing Baxter to dig deep into his playing stock at Sandy Park.
“It’s definitely going to create opportunities for others within the squad,” added Baxter. “Guys like Dafydd Jenkins and Richard Capstick will certainly get a chance, as will some of those younger guys in the front-row. It’s certainly an opportunity for them and one I hope that take.
“It’s like I said, as long as they show that week-on-week performance, then quite a few of them could come out of this Six Nations block with some really good Premiership experience under their belts. It will set them up nicely and it will set us up as well. All of them can drive the future success of this club, both individually and collectively, so it’s up to them to step up and show where they want to go.
“Equally, it’s also an opportunity for those senior guys in the squad to show what good leaders they can be as well. It’s an interesting challenging, but one which will only bring the best out of us.”
As for the threat of the Exiles tomorrow, Baxter has underlined the challenge awaiting his players, particularly in the wake of Irish winning 33-21 at Sandy Park back in October.
“We had a decent team out that day, but for whatever reason we put in what was a pretty tired performance on the day,” explained Baxter. “That said, London Irish came down here and they clearly wanted to change the history of our previous results against them. They had a point to prove and as I said before the game that day, they looked a team who were settled, playing well and knew what they wanted to do.
“Now, we have to go and change that narrative this weekend. It won’t be easy, we know that, but we have to step up. They are just behind us in the table, they have aspirations of their own this season, so in a funny kind of way it’s a challenge I think we need.
“I think for the first time in a while we will probably go there as underdogs, but I think we need to relish that status. It’s a refreshing position to be in, so let’s go and make the most of it.”
Team news for the Chiefs sees Baxter make a number of changes due to injury and unavailability. In the pack, there is a completely new front-row of James Kenny, Jack Innard and Patrick Schickerling, who will make his first-ever top-flight start.
Behind them, Gray returns in the second-row after missing the recent clashes with Glasgow Warriors and Montpellier, whilst Don Armand fills the void at No.8 left by Sam Simmonds.
In the back division, Harvey Skinner and Ian Whitten form a new midfield partnership, whilst there is a first start of the season for Olly Woodburn on the right wing.
Waiting in reserve, Billy Keast is fit-again after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, whilst Argentinian forward Santiago Grondona is poised to make his Chiefs debut after being named in the match-day squad.
