Yeandle set to reach Chiefs milestone
By Mark Stevens
24/12/22
Over the years Jack Yeandle has been front and centre for many of Exeter’s triumphs on the big stage. Today, though, he can happily enjoy the limelight on his own as he prepares to be the latest inductee into a rare club here at the Chiefs.
Joined by daughters Eva and Nellie, the long-standing Chiefs captain will lead his side into battle against Westcountry rivals Bath on this his 200th Premiership appearance for the club.
He will be just the third Chief to achieve the feat, joining current team-mates Ben Moon and Ian Whitten in passing the milestone.
Yeandle believes there will be plenty others down the line who will get to hit the 200 mark, but for now he should enjoy his moment in the spotlight, particularly given his achievements over the years.
“It’s flown by,” he said this week when asked to recall his time at the club so far. “I remember doing my interview after my debut and I must have said ‘awesome’ and ‘excellent’ at least 25 times.”
It does, however, mean a lot to the Exeter-born hooker, whose route to Sandy Park was not all that conventional. Instead, he went via UWIC (Cardiff Met University) and Doncaster Knights, enjoyed a decent loan spell at the Cornish Pirates, before forging himself very much in Rob Baxter’s selection plans here at the Chiefs.
“My pathway wasn’t quite like others who are here,” he said. “I did it a bit different, but I always had that aim that I wanted to play for the Chiefs. It’s my hometown club and like everyone playing rugby round here, that’s all you wanted as a young player.”
The fact Yeandle had to wait until November 2012 to realise that dream was not lost on him as he reflected on his now 10-year association with the club. “I consider myself very lucky to have been part of the Chiefs for so long,” said the 33-year-old.
“I’ve been part of three teams over the years. The first was that ‘originals’ group from the Championship days. Then we’ve had that really successful group that’s won two leagues and Europe and now we’re building that next generation. Throughout it all, one thing that has changed has been the bond we’ve had as a group of players.
“Every club will say they have a special culture, but here it is different, we are mates on and off the field. Yes, people move on and the the squad is forever changing, but the Chiefs have always been about hard work. It’s always been that you earn your beers. We work hard, we play hard and that’s probably been shown this year where we had our toughest pre-season ever, yet the boys excelled and we’ve seen the results in our performances, especially early on.”
Today, the Chiefs face familiar foes in the form of Bath, the side that actually took the longest to beat in the Premiership.
“Everyone loves a Christmas Eve game, especially a derby,” added Yeandle. “It’s the start of a big month for us, so hopefully we can get the result and then be able to enjoy our Christmas. The last few weeks have certainly been better and we have kicked on in terms of our results, but we can’t relax now, we have to kick on further.
“Having the international boys back has certainly helped, but equally we did ask question of ourselves after some of the results. In the past you may have been happy to get a bonus point on the road. It was like a par score, but our standards are much higher now and we have to be better.”