Baxter accuses Northampton of prop crisis 'mind games'
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter was happy to help Northampton in their efforts to plug their loosehead prop injury crisis, but believes recent comments from the Saints have been verging on the side of mind games.
The two Gallagher Premiership teams will go head-to-head at Sandy Park on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup. Ahead of the clash, Saints feared being forced into uncontested scrums with Francois van Wyk, Alex Waller, Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi and Nick Auterac all out injured, which left rookie teenager Manny Iyogun as the club’s only fit loosehead.
However, the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) board on Thursday morning allowed Gloucester’s Alex Seville to sign for Northampton and unanimously agreed to a change in the tournament rules which permits the registration of front row players after the deadline.
Exeter boss Baxter was pleased to see the situation resolved but said: “Outside of what has been seen in the media, club-wise we have known about this ongoing scenario and the need for EPCR to make a rule change for quite a while.
“We certainly made it clear to Northampton when they contacted us that if the EPCR asked for any kind of rule which would allow them to register an extra player, we would agree with that and support it which we have done.
Saints were left fearing being forced into uncontested scrums at Sandy Park https://t.co/WyApfDC45R
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 17, 2020
“It is interesting listening to some of the comments coming out of Northampton because just a couple of weeks ago, we played against them in a Premiership fixture and had a tighthead (Alfie Petch) on the bench, who came on and played.
“He had not played a minute of Premiership Rugby, was 20-years-old and I can’t remember anything being in the press about there being any issues about a guy playing his first minute of Premiership Rugby and the same two sides were involved.
“Some of it is a little bit mind games if I am honest and a scenario that potentially isn’t really there when you look at what clubs have been doing in the games anyway.”
Northampton approached the EPCR about their loosehead issues before van Wyk suffered an injury at Leicester on Sunday and had to be replaced by inexperienced teenager Iyogun. Saints rugby director Chris Boyd’s insisted: “Manny is a 19-year-old boy who played all his football at number eight and had never really played in a men’s scrum before.”
It was also suggested Leicester’s Dan Cole had gone easy on Iyogun and Northampton look set to start emergency loan signing Seville this weekend. “We don’t know how long he has been training with them,” Baxter added when asked about the Gloucester prop, who featured against Exeter in a league fixture earlier this month.
“They have been waiting for the EPCR regulations, so we don’t know how long he has been there preparing. That is one question. The other side is Alex played against us not very long ago, for Gloucester so he is more than capable of surviving against our front row.
“Every club has these challenges at certain times of introducing new players at short notice. He will be fine and I don’t think that will be a defining moment of the game, what will be the defining part of the game is which club turns up.”
While Saints have won the tournament before and were runners up nine years ago, the best Exeter have managed – despite their recent domestic dominance – is a single quarter-final. Baxter’s side lost to Wasps at that stage in 2016 but Chiefs are a different proposition now, have reached the last four Premiership finals and face a Northampton team who have lost their last five games.
He added: “I’d like to think the magnitude of the game will help with us that [complacency]. This is a European Cup quarter-final, it is a competition we want to do well in. We haven’t gone beyond this stage before. This is something we should certainly be targeting as a team.
“I would like to think regardless of the opposition, we would have an ability to focus on ourselves and look to put out what should be players preparing to have their best game of the season.”
"I don’t see why people would see that as a negative"https://t.co/WJ6woZGN6v
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 17, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments