Malton praises young guns

By David Byrom
2/2/17

Exeter Chiefs hooker Shaun Malton has heaped praise on the club's youngsters as they seek to qualify for the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-finals.

The Chiefs currently top their pool in the competition thanks to last weekend's 52-5 demolition of Wasps.

However, with the Chiefs level on points with Ospreys, work is still needed to go through to the next round, and they face Bristol on Sunday in their final pool stage match.

The side are expected to continue the tradition of fielding a mixture of youth and experience in the line-up and Durban-born Malton praised the likes of academy graduates Sam and Joe Simmonds for how well they have performed in this year's competition.

Malton, 27, said: "The youngsters put their hands up so much, like the Simmo brothers.

"The Simmo brothers are amazing, especially Joe, who's taking it on so well. The boys just go out and express themselves so well. They're really good guys and they're really hard guys to tackle. Their attacking threat is unbelievable, with their offloads and running hard, and their defence is even better.

"On Saturday, Wasps didn't score any points in the second half, which is what we said at half-time."

Yet Malton is aware that, with Bristol being a bit of a local derby for the Chiefs, it will be a tough game, especially with it taking place at Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium.

However, the former Nottingham player says the Chiefs need to play their own game against Bristol, no matter what is thrown at them.

"Especially at their place," Malton said when asked if he felt Bristol would be difficult. "We've just got to stick to our game plan, even if they break it down.

"We just need to stick to our game plan and go through it, make it fast-paced, get the ball in and out and just play.

"Every time you take to the field, you've just got to express yourself and see how things go.

"You do want to move up and put some heat on the others but it's just about playing your game."

Malton also paid tribute to the Chiefs Tribe after almost 11,000 of them turned up at Sandy Park to roar the Chiefs to victory against Wasps – an unexpectedly high number for an Anglo-Welsh Cup match.

He said: "The support was unbelievable – I just want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting us as it really helped."