Frost making most of opportunity at the Chiefs
By Mark Stevens
10/3/23
There was a time earlier in the season when Dan Frost didn’t even know if he would be plying his trade again in the Gallagher Premiership.
Like many at former club Wasps, the all-action hooker was facing an uncertain future. The collapse of the former European and Premiership heavyweights was headline-making news, but underlined the perilous state the club game in England had suddenly found itself in.
The demise of Wasps and Worcester Warriors was heart-breaking for everyone associated with the two clubs. For the players themselves, one day they were reporting for training, the next they were on the rugby scrapheap, unsure where and what would be happening next in their playing careers.
It was troubling times for all, including the 25-year-old forward, but thankfully the Exeter Chiefs were monitoring the situation and it was Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, who swooped to sign not only Frost, but Wasps club-mates Alfie Bell, Greg Fisilau and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
“It was crazy times,” explained Frost. “Nobody knew how things were going to pan out. One day I was at Wasps training, the next we were all called into the meeting and told that was it. Thankfully, Rob came in for me pretty quickly and was able to come down to the Chiefs.”
Frost’s return to his native Westcountry in October was certainly timely and since then he has quickly settled to life at Sandy Park, providing a viable and potent option to the Exeter front-row.
To date, the Taunton-born hooker has featured nine times, bagging three tries in the process. Today, he lines up for a Chiefs side looking to bounce back from last weekend’s Twickenham torment, where they went down 40-5 to Harlequins in Big Game 14.
On a day to forget for the Devonians, Frost admits some tough talking post-game and again this week had helped to focus the minds ahead of this afternoon’s must-win encounter against Newcastle Falcons at Sandy Park.
“There was some tough talking, but it was needed,” said Frost. “Last week wasn’t up to scratch and was not what you call an Exeter Chiefs performance. That said, we can’t let it get us down too much, we needed a response and we need to bounce back this weekend.
“Being at home gives us the perfect opportunity to do that. Being back in front of our fans, playing at home, we have all the ingredients to show our reaction.”
Despite the loss a week ago, Frost insists the Chiefs remain upbeat, particularly as they strive not only to reach the Premiership play-offs, but the latter stages of the Heineken Champions Cup and, of course, next weekend’s Premiership Rugby Cup Final against London Irish.
“For all the doom and gloom, we’ve still got a great opportunity to attack on three fronts,” said Frost. “Being here, seeing the squad that we have at our disposal, then why can’t we do well on three fronts. We’ve got this weekend, which is huge, but then we’ve got a Cup Final to look forward and then a last 16 tie in Europe.
“As players we can’t focus on the past, we have to look to the future and that’s what we will be doing. We’ve had some good meetings this week, got a few things off our chests, and the vibe around the place has been really encouraging. Now, we’ve just got to take all of that out onto the field this weekend.”
Standing in the way of the Chiefs today will be a Falcons side, who despite their lowly position in the table, still have plenty about them to throw a spanner into the works.
“They are a side that always play for the full eighty,” warned Frost. “The game that sticks out is the one against Saracens, they were down to 14, 13 men at times, but they didn’t give up. We know that we will need to bring our A game this weekend because if we switch off, that’s when they will cause you problems. They are a decent side who can really challenge you, so we’ve got to be ready to meet that threat head on.”