Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Exeter selection 'largely based on players who are going to be here next season'

By Ian Cameron
Stuart Hogg /PA

Rob Baxter has selected an Exeter Chiefs team that is shorn of its departing superstars for their final Gallagher Premiership game of the season against London Irish.

ADVERTISEMENT

The decision means that the likes of Stuart Hogg, Sam Simmonds, Joe Simmonds, Jack Nowell, Harry Williams, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Dave Ewers have all now played their final game for Exeter.

Jannes Kirsten is the only confirmed departee who will feature.

“The first meeting I had with the players, I filled them in with how we were going to select the team, just because we are going to make considerable changes for the weekend,” said Baxter. “I don’t mind saying, if we give selection away to London Irish nice and early, the team is going to be largely based on players who are going to be here next season.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

“I think that’s the right thing to do, but the first message I put out to the players was ‘right guys, nobody is being punished here’. My job is to look ahead and move forward. I know there are guys who want to play this weekend because they want to play their last game for the club in the last game of the season, but in some ways – and I know the game was a loss – that game last week was a pretty fitting way for some of those guys to finish their careers with us.

“Playing in a fantastic stadium in what was a huge game, that for me is a great way to finish. I think this is something that will probably get their heads around in the next day or two because they were very frustrated after the game. What they have to remember, however, is good teams lose semi-finals. Some incredible teams have lost in Heineken Cup semi-finals over many years. Two good teams advance and two good teams bow out, but you should that experience to move forward.

“If that game defines your career, it’s still a pretty big game to play in. If that’s your last game, it’s still a great occasion to be involved in. That’s what I will remind the guys of this week. Yes, this week will be full of emotion because we are losing quite a few boys who have been here for some time. Together they’ve been incredible men at this club and enjoyed some incredible times together. The flip side, however, is we have to make it exciting as well for the group who are here and staying.

“I’ve always been a big believer in saying it’s the men in the room that will make things happen. I actually said that to the lads before the La Rochelle game. I told them how we start that game, what we do here, is all about you as the men in the room. The stadium may be packed with French supporters, but what we do is about what we say and do in here. To be fair, we turned up, we got into the game and we were competitive for large parts of that game. At the end of the day, we weren’t quite good enough.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Moving forward, though, I know we will be better for the experience. When you look back, especially some of those early years, we went to France and we got annihilated at times. Clermont that first time was scary, we faced Toulon in their pomp. Every one of those trips, however, was a learning experience and that is the stuff you look back on and you draw strength from.

“Not one of those games defined us as a club and not one thing now will define us. Guys will learn from it all and I know we will be much better for it in the future.”

EXETER CHIEFS:
15 Josh Hodge
14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
13 Henry Slade (capt)
12 Ollie Devoto
11 Tom Wyatt
10 Harvey Skinner
9 Stu Townsend
1 Alec Hepburn
2 Jack Innard
3 Josh Iosefa-Scott
4 Jannes Kirsten
5 Jack Dunne
6 Jacques Vermeulen
7 Christ Tshiunza
8 Greg Fisilau

16 Iestyn Harris
17 Billy Keast
18 Marcus Street
19 Mike Williams
20 Aidon Davis
21 Tom Cairns
22 Tom Hendrickson
23 Dan John

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

36 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

36 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'It's an All Black discussion': The pair of young Hurricanes tipped for black jerseys The pair of young Hurricanes tipped for black jerseys
Search