Rob Baxter delivers blunt message to Chiefs stars nearing end of deals

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter says that his squad are playing for their futures after admitting he hasn’t opened talks with players who are out of contract at the end of the season.

The Chiefs are likely to keep hold of England star Henry Slade, who last week said that he would like to spend the rest of his career at the club despite his former agent Leigh Hinton being the recruitment chief for R360.

Former England A full-back, Josh Hodge, who returns from suspension to face Harlequins, has been linked with a return to his former club Newcastle Red Bulls, where he started his career before moving to Devon.

The Roots brothers Ethan and Jimmy are in the final year of their deals, along with Will Goodrick-Clarke, Ehren Painter, Dan John and Olly Woodburn, but Baxter says he will be giving players the chance to prove they are worth a deal.

“I haven’t started what you call formal negotiations, no. The biggest reason why is that we have got to see how the team goes. We didn’t have a good season last season.

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“There’s no ulterior motive behind the fact that I want to see how we go and how the form of the squad is, whether we have got the formation of the squad correct. All those types of things.

“I’d like to think that we are rebuilding a group of players who can be very successful together, and I am not going to rush into re-signing everyone who is here now because I want to see how we go.

“In professional sport, you are always playing for your future, and that will always be the case. I want the players to embrace that we talk about it very openly.

“The way these lads look after themselves, their careers and families is to play well and train well. Every player is playing for their future in every game that they play.

“Everyone knows who is available, and all of the talk can go ahead, and I’m not saying we haven’t had talks because we don’t want them to be here. That’s completely different,” he said.

Meanwhile, Baxter says that he is happy with the start his side has made to the season, taking nine points from their opening three games with their new Wallabies stars Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper set to face Quins on Sunday.

“We have collected points in every game this season, and that’s how you build a foundation and ultimately get us to where we want to be at the end of the season.

“To collect the points that we have has put us right in the mix, but we have got to keep on collecting points. One hundred per cent we would have taken this start.

“At this stage last season, we hadn’t won a game. I think we collected a couple of bonus points, but that was it. We feel in a much better place, and the players look a lot brighter. We look competitive in a lot of areas,” he added.