Devoto faces familiar foes
By Mark Stevens
21/3/19
Ollie Devoto comes up against familiar foes in Bath this Sunday, but the Exeter Chiefs man insists there will be no old pals act when the two collide in Round 17 of the Gallagher Premiership.
Brought through the academy ranks at the Recreation Ground as a teenager, Devoto will forever be grateful to the start given to him by the Blue, Black & Whites, whom he featured some 85 times for between 2012 and 2016.
It was at that stage, however, that the Chiefs came knocking, putting together a fresh challenge that the then 22-year-old back simply could not turn down.
Since then, Devoto has played a key role in the continued rise of the Chiefs, helping them to Premiership glory against Wasps in 2017, as well as Anglo-Welsh Cup success against Bath last season at Kingsholm.
Those have certainly been the key highlights to date for the England international in Devon, but at the same he’s also had to contend with an injury-ravaged campaign last term, where much to his dislike he was forced into a watching brief.
Thankfully, those injury woes are firmly behind him and the Yeovil-born back has been back to his scintillating best this season, helping the Chiefs to establish an eight-point buffer at the summit of the table heading into this weekend’s action.
His on-field form has not only won his rave reviews from the Chiefs’ coaching staff, but it has been noticed further afield with England head coach Eddie Jones drafting him into his recent training squad for much of the Six Nations campaign.
“Being involved with England was a huge boost for me,” said Devoto. “I was initially surprised to get the call-up, but to be involved in camp for a lot of the campaign was really good. Learning those different styles, adding to your knowledge, and just being in and around the things, listening to different voices, it was a great experience for me.”
Although Devoto failed to add to the healthy Chiefs contingent on competitive duty during the recent Championship, he was still making an impact at club level, helping Rob Baxter’s side to deliver three wins out of four in their last top-flight block.
“The last month has been a great block for us and put us in a great position heading into this last stretch of the season,” added Devoto. “Although we didn’t have a number of boys because of the Six Nations, I think it’s testament to the squad that we have here that we were able to go and put in the performances we did.
“If you look at the division as a whole, every team has something to play for and that means the games have been hugely competitive. Beating Newcastle here was a great result, but then we followed it up with two equally good performances up at Sale and Worcester.”
Now, the challenge for Devoto and his team-mates will be to maintain that form and create some genuine momentum for those final weeks of the season.
“We’ve not really spoken about how many wins we need to qualify for the top four or to get a home semi-final,” continued Devoto. “It’s been more about focusing on the next test – which in this case is Bath this weekend – and building a real head of steam up.
“Having the boys back from international duty this week has been good, already they’ve created a bit of a buzz about the place, but the focus is all on making sure we keep our form up and that we head into that last part of the season in the best shape possible.”
Standing in the way of the Chiefs will be a Bath outfit, who themselves still harbour high hopes of reaching the end of season play-offs.They know victory at Sandy Park today will enhance that cause, as well as throw a rare spanner into the works for the home side.
“It’s going to be exciting, but every game is like that for me,” added Devoto. “That initial first time I played Bath it was a little bit weird, but I’m now three years down the line with the Chiefs, so it just another game in a lot of ways.
“Yes, I still know one of two of the guys up there from my time at the club, but I don’t look at this game any different to any other.All I know is it’s going to be another big test for us at the weekend and one which we have to be ready for.
“Bath are a great side, they’ve got very good players, but equally so are we.Being at home, we’ve not been here much in the past two months, will be good and, hopefully, it will bring the best out of us.”
Sunday's match sponsors for the game between Exeter Chiefs and Bath are Bradford Building Supplies & EBCS Leisure
