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Exeter deliver 'good picture' injury update on Vermeulen, Wimbush

Exeter back-rower Jacques Vermeulen (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Rob Baxter has expressed satisfaction that injury fears over Jacques Vermeulen and Zack Wimbush aren’t as bad as initially feared. The Chiefs lost back-rower Vermeulen to a 54th-minute setback in last Saturday’s pre-season win over Ulster, while midfielder Wimbush was last involved in the previous weekend’s loss to Ospreys.

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Director of rugby Baxter has now held his media briefing ahead of next Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership opener at home to Leicester and he was happy with the injury outlook surrounding Vermeulen and Wimbush, along with the longer-term prognosis for Henry Slade, Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Wyatt who are all on the mend following surgery.

“Jacques Vermeulen took a bang at the weekend,” he reported via a Wednesday morning Zoom call. ‘We are still kind of assessing really how bad that is but it is certainly not as bad as out initial fears were, so that’s a good picture.

“Zack Wimbush has got a foot injury. We are still waiting on a surgeon’s input on that, on his opinion, but it looks like it’s unlikely to need an operation. That’s just going to have a good rehab period.

“Outside of that we look pretty good, we are ticking along okay. We didn’t pick up too much at the weekend, the odd bumps and bruises that you would expect from a good physical encounter against a good physical Ulster side, so we feel we are locked in for this weekend.”

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Regarding his longer-term absentees, Baxter added: “They could all be back in and around the same period, which is around that autumn international/our Prem Cup period. That is what we are hopeful of.

“Some guys might be a couple of weeks forward, they might be a couple of weeks back but we are taking roughly those timescales for those three which is surprising how quickly it starts to feel it is coming around.”

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J
JW 49 minutes ago
Crusaders outlast fast starting Blues to reach another Super Rugby final

Yeah nar, but that’s kinda the thing, I don’t think the old approach was working either!


You might have it right though, leading up, in all rugby/competitions mean, to the last WC it did feel like there had been better discipline/less than the normal amount of cards. Well, at least a certain demographic of teams improved at least, but not so much NZ ones is my point.


I bet you also think going harsher would be the best way to go reducing head contact and the frequency of concussions?


I would hate to have your theory tested as it requires subjective thinking from the officials but..

AI Overview

In Super Rugby Pacific, a red card means the player is sent off for the rest of the match, but with a 20-minute red card, the team can replace the player after 20 minutes of playing with 14 men. If the foul play is deemed deliberate and with a high degree of danger, a full red card is issued, and the player cannot be replaced. A second yellow card also results in a 20-minute red card with a replacement allowed. 

is there to stop that from happening. The whole subjective thing is why we have 20min cards, and I worry that the same leniency that stopped them from red carding a player who ran 30 meters and still didn’t get his head low enough would stop them straight redn them too.


Back to the real topic though, right after that WC we saw those same angles getting red carded all over the show. So do some players actually have control over their actions enough to avoid head collisions (and didn’t gaf after the WC?), or was it pure luck or an imaginary period of good discipline?


So without a crystal ball to know the truth of it I think you’ll find it an immeasurably better product with 20m red cards, there just does not appear to be any appropriate amount of discipline added to the back end, the suspensions (likely controlled by WR), yet.

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