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Josh Iosefa-Scott backed for England honours after new Chiefs deal
By Neil Fissler
Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has backed Josh Iosefa-Scott to win a full England cap after the tighthead signed a new contract to stay at Sandy Park for the next two years.
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Iosefa-Scott, 28, who was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, joined the Chiefs from Super Rugby outfit the Highlanders four years ago and last year won England A honours against Portugal at Welford Road.
But Baxter says that he would be disappointed if the 6 ft 4 in front-rower, who weighs 145 kg and has started the last six games for the Chiefs, doesn’t win a senior cap for England.
“I would like to think in the coming seasons, we as a club, the squad we have and his performances would merit him being looked at in the future, yes.
“The players have come to us and have been so far outside international recognition. It’s scary. Even tightheads like Harry Williams and Tom Francis came to us out of the Championship.
“They were nowhere near international recognition at the time, and by the time they finished their careers with us, they had been capped by England and Wales.
“What will get Josh a cap is if we become a good team in the Premiership. If that happens players get international recognition. That is one of the things that is driving us forward,” said Baxter.
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Baxter says that he is one of the bright parts of an otherwise disappointing season, which could start to get better with a win over Ealing Trailfinders in the semi-finals of the Premiership Rugby Cup this weekend.
“This has been a challenging season, but he has been one of the success stories. He ended last season with a toe ligament injury, which isn’t helpful to a prop, and you have to be careful how you get over it.
“He started this season slowly. But he has grown as the season has gone on. He is our first-choice tighthead with a load of potential, but he is a good rugby player as well.
“He is a good set piece forward and good around the field. So he is going to be, I’d like to think, a cornerstone of what we are trying to achieve together with Ehren Painter and Jimmy Roots,” he added.
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Iosefa-Scott said: “It was a pretty easy decision for me to re-sign. The environment is strong and the lads we have here are unbelievable. From this season we can grow, and I think we can achieve a lot of good things, so I want to be a part of that.”
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Think Baxter is going to be pretty disappointed. Iosefa-Scott is behind Stuart, Heyes, Davison, and Opoku-Fordjour in the pecking order, which Sela and Fasogbon also likely to emerge as genuine international standard players in the next couple of years.