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Exeter Chiefs to raid Premiership rival for new lock

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Exeter Chiefs‘ plans for the 2019/20 season are set to take another step forward in the coming weeks, as they prepare to confirm the arrival of a new second row.

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The Gallagher Premiership leaders have seen homegrown product Sam Skinner commit his international future to Scotland this season, something which has seen their resources in the engine room stretched thin during international windows, especially with Jonny Hill‘s recent absence due to injury. Skinner’s RPI of 91 and Hill’s score of 87 make them the second and third highest rated locks in the Premiership respectively, with only Maro Itoje, 92, ahead of them.

With Hill also likely to be on the international radar in 2019/20, having toured South Africa with England last year, albeit without winning a debut cap, the club are clearly keen to strengthen their stock of second rows.

RugbyPass sources understand that Newcastle Falcons lock Will Witty is the man that Exeter have agreed to bring in, with the former England U20 set to sign a two-year deal in Devon.

Witty had a breakout campaign for Newcastle last season, featuring prominently alongside Calum Green, and established himself as a very adept lineout forward. Between he and Green, visitors to Kingston Park were put under constant pressure at the set-piece, whilst the pair also helped to provide the platform from which Falcons flourished last season.

Will Witty of Newcastle Falcons is tackled by James Chisholm and Renaldo Bothma of Harlequins during the Aviva Premiership match between Newcastle Falcons and Harlequins at Kingston Park. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

The 6′ 5″ forward was a part of the England side that made it to the final of the 2015 World Rugby U20 Championship, starting alongside Charlie Ewels, as well as other senior England internationals Ellis Genge and Paul Hill.

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Only eligible for England and facing stiff competition at his position internationally, Exeter will have an effective lineout operator in Witty that they should be able to rely on for the entire season, something which is valued particularly highly in the south-west, with the club’s proficiency at the set-piece and with their driving maul often paramount to their success.

Witty could find himself in a competition with Mitch Lees, Dave Dennis, Ollie Atkins and Sean Lonsdale to regularly feature alongside Skinner and Hill next season, although both Dennis and Atkins are in contract years and could end up moving on in the summer.

Watch: Rugby World Cup city guide: Oita

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f
fl 43 minutes ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

I ultimately don’t care who the best club team in the world is, so yeah, lets agree to disagree on that.


I would appreciate clarity on a couple of things though:

Where did I contradict myself?

Saying “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” is entirely compatible with ranking a team as the best - over an extended period - when they have won more games and made more finals than other comparable teams. It would be contradictory for me to say “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” and then completely ignore Leinster record of winning games and making finals.


“You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself.”

What you said (that I think trophies matter) is true, in that I said “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.”. Do you understand that Leinster won more games and made more finals than any other (URC-based) team did under the period under consideration?


“Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.”

I really don’t understand why you would think that this is irrelevant. You seem to be saying that winning trophies is the only thing that matters when assessing who is the best, but doesn’t matter at all when assessing who is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.


“What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.”

Well then we’ve just been talking at cross purposes. In that my position (that Leinster were the best team overall in 2022-2024) was pretty clear, and you just decided to respond to a different point (whether Leinster were the best team individually in particular years) essentially making the entire discussion completely pointless. I guess if you think that trophies are the only thing that matters then it makes sense to see the season as an individual event that culminates in a trophy (or not), whereas because I believe that trophies matter a lot, but that so does winning matches and making finals, it makes it easier for me to consider quality over an extended period.

24 Go to comments
M
MT 1 hour ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

As I said in one of my first replies to you - we can agree to disagree. If you want to leave it no problem. I completely disagree with your ranking of Leinster as the best team in the world. Now you have said you will change it if Bordeaux win the Top 14. Well as Leinster themselves prioritise the CC over the URC and Bordeaux won the CC, how are they not ranked higher by you? Are Leinster one of the best teams, yeah - never said they weren’t. But not the very best team, as the very best team have trophies to show for their seasons. They matter when you discuss the very best.


You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself. Just so we are clear, you said you would too on my statement that I would rather be a fan of a team that won a trophy over the three seasons, but end the paragraph saying you would rather be a fan of the team that won the most matches but didn’t win a trophy. Both cant be true. Thats one example of where you contradict yourself.


Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.


What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.

24 Go to comments
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