Lawday's Day to Remember
By Alfie Martin
19/9/18
Tom Lawday made light work of his last-minute call-up, producing an eye-catching first-ever Gallagher Premiership start for Exeter Chiefs.
Thrust into first team action on the morning of the club’s home encounter with Sale Sharks, the 24-year-old forward showed no sign of nerves as he not only helped the Chiefs to a third successive win of the season, but at the same bagged a maiden top-flight score in his side’s 35-18 victory.
Lawday, along with fellow rookie Sean Lonsdale, were both elevated into the starting ranks by Exeter Director of Rugby Rob Baxter on the morning of last Saturday’s match after fellow back-row forwards Matt Kvesic and Sam Simmonds both fell ill overnight.
The duo inclusion meant Baxter had made nine changes to his starting XV from that of the previous week against Wasps, but it made little difference as the well-oiled Chiefs machine once again cranked into overdrive.
Beaming with delight post-match, Lawday reflected on what had been a pretty manic past 24 hours for him. He said: “It was a bit of a surprise if I’m honest, I only found out yesterday. But the coaches always say you’ve got to be ready whenever. I only had 24 hours to really get my head around it.
“Having the opportunity to make my Premiership debut is just amazing, I can’t really put it into words to be honest. Running in after the warm-up with the East Terrace booming, that was pretty special.”
Although it was not Lawday’s first taste of action in the Chiefs ranks, last season he helped them to Anglo-Welsh Cup glory for a second time, playing in the Premiership was a completely new experience and one he is keen to savour more and more.
Indeed, the Dorchester-born forward quickly found his feet in the game, scoring in true Chiefs fashion from a well-orchestrated, pick-and-go effort five metres out. Following in the stud-marks of predecessors Thomas Waldrom and Sam Simmonds, a pattern of score-hungry No.8s at the club has unquestionably emerged in recent years.
“I think it’s the way that we play and the way that we carry the ball,” added Lawday, who was spotted by the Chiefs after impressing during his time at the University of Exeter. “The coaches told me to carry and to make sure that I got myself on the ball. When we get into those positions on the pitch, that five-metre channel, I knew I had to get myself in there. Thankfully, I got myself over the whitewash.”
Amongst praise for his team-mates and the effort put in from the Chiefs outfit, recognition of the hard-fought challenge that the Sharks exercised at Sandy Park made this first league start a game to remember.
“Credit to Sale they were really good, made it a really tough ask for us,” he continued. “I felt like we gained a bit of momentum towards the end of the game and we managed to see it out.
“In the Premiership, we know teams are going to be fighting for 80 minutes and we know we’ve got to put our foot down for a long amount of time, I think that showed especially today.”
Since landing his senior Academy contract in late 2017, Lawday has found his feet at the club, praising the wealth of talent on show and the comradery between team-mates, especially the senior players at the club.
“There’s so much competition and we’ve got one of the biggest squads in the Premiership. The boys really push each other hard for those spots which really shows,” he said.
“In the back row, we’ve got really experienced players like Don Armand, Dave Ewers and Dave Dennis. I learn a lot off of them, they’re really encouraging and helpful and they’re definitely making me into a better player on the pitch.”