Karea keen to build on dream debut

By Mark Stevens
25/9/19

Barrie Karea is hoping for more exposure with the Exeter Chiefs after he enjoyed a try-scoring debut for the Devon club in their Premiership Rugby Cup win over Bath at the weekend.

The 19-year-old centre was brought on for the final quarter at Sandy Park and wasted little time in making an impact, claiming his side's all-important fourth try in their 28-14 success.

Thrust into the heart of the Chiefs midfield, the former Blundells School pupil was on hand to apply the finish to a slick Exeter attack, instigated by scrum-half Joe Snow, who drew in the cover before shipping the ball to his team-mate to score under the posts.

"It was amazing to make my debut," he said at the final whistle. "Coming on, scoring the try and then seeing friends in the crowd, I just loved it!"

Now, Karea - a product of the club's highly successful academy set-up - hopes to be part and parcel of the Chiefs mix for Friday night's trip to Leicester Tigers in Round Two of the competition.

"It's been a long pre-season for all of us, so it was great to finally get out there and play some rugby. A lot of what we have been working on seemed to pay off today, so hopefully we can continue that into the Leicester game."

As one of 10 debutants to feature against Bath, Karea now knows what match-days at Sandy Park are all about, including playing in front of a crowd of almost 10,000 people.

"The noise was incredible," he added. "It's the best feeling and hopefully I get more opportunities to experience it. To get the win was the perfect start, but now we have to go again in this next game.

"The forwards [against Bath] really put their hands up and created the platform for us as backs to really exploit. With the scrums being so dominant, it allowed us to move up quickly, attack the line and then execute some of our moves."

More of the same will be craved by the Chiefs against a Tigers outfit, who will be licking their wounds after a comprehensive 57-23 loss at Worcester Warriors in their Cup opener.