Exeter boss Rob Baxter makes bold Boks prediction about new recruit

Rob Baxter believes that Joseph Dweba can use the Exeter Chiefs as a springboard back into Rassie Erasmus’s Springbok setup and show that his international career is far from over.

Dweba, 29, won the last of his six Springboks caps with an appearance off the bench in an August 2023 defeat in Argentina, but then lost his PONI (Player of National Interest) contract, which saw the Springboks top up his Stormers deal.

He was the third-choice hooker in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup, and Baxter believes that he can follow a well-trodden path back to International recognition if he applies himself.

“It’s the situation Dean Mumm, Dave Dennis, and Nic White were all in. Dean and Nic both went back and played in World Cups. Nic is still playing now, and he left us four years ago,” said Baxter.

“We signed Nic when he wasn’t getting any international recognition at all. He played two seasons for us and hasn’t stopped playing for Australia since, and people would have said he was lost.

“Nobody says that about him now, and I doubt people even remember it. Dean Mumm was the same. He dropped out of international recognition and had an okay season with the Waratahs.

“He came back and was so inspirational for us that Australia wanted him back for a World Cup, and I don’t see Joseph being any different in his career. I think there is a lot left in him, and he thinks there is a lot left in him.

“I’d like to think you will see a revived Joseph Dweba this season in a revived Exeter Chiefs team.”

There was a feeling in South Africa last year that Dweba lost his way, but Baxter is happy with the way that he has settled in since moving his family to Devon in July and has already impressed with his attitude on and off the pitch.

“He has settled in fantastically well. He has come in and got on with things and fitted in in the changing room well. He has worked extremely hard,” he commented.

“Anyone who watched the games against the Ospreys and Gloucester, our set piece does look a different animal at the moment, and he is contributing massively to that, in what he is doing in it and focused around it.

“He still has got a little bit to do. He is very open to asking what more do we want from him. He isn’t one of those guys who thinks I’ve been there and done that, but I’ll manage myself as I go along.

“He is going out on the training field and doing everything. He is coming to the coaches for feedback on training sessions and games. I’m really pleased with what he is doing.

“He is very keen to work on all elements of his game and push on. He isn’t in the mindset of picking up his paycheck and seeing out his time at all. That’s really refreshing,” added Baxter.