Rumoured comment by Welsh Exeter player 'fueled' Gloucester thumping

Gloucester’s record-breaking 79-17 Gallagher Premiership demolition of Exeter Chiefs at Kingsholm was fuelled by a rumoured comment from within the visitors’ camp.

After the 13-try rout, both Gloucester captain Lewis Ludlow and winger Christian Wade revealed that a rumour had circulated during the week suggesting a Welsh player in the Exeter squad had described Gloucester as “soft.” The alleged remark, though never confirmed, is believed to have found its way back to Kingsholm via Gloucester’s strong Welsh contingent.

Speaking after the match, Ludlow admitted the rumour had helped sharpen Gloucester’s edge in the build-up. Wade, who crossed for his 90th Premiership try, also indicated it had served as added motivation for the home side.

“We heard a rumour that someone in the Exeter camp called us soft, so we had to make a point,” Ludlow told TNT Sports. “Every time we got in a huddle it gave that little bit of fuel, reminding ourselves that that was said, that we have a ‘soft underbelly’. Hopefully we proved that wrong today.”

Wade also mentioned it when talking pitch-side with Ugo Monye and Sam Warburton. “I can attest to that,” said Wade, when asked about the rumour. “After the game last week, the rumour was circulating that someone in their camp… I don’t know. One of the Welsh boys apparently [looks at Sam Warburton]. [They] were saying that we had a soft underbelly. That definitely fuelled us this week.”

"It was one of the Welsh boys."

Ugo Monye and Sam Warburton do a little digging as they chat to Christian Wade.#GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/1LbDbAbz5e

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 27, 2025

Gloucester had already identified the fixture as a must-win to keep their Gallagher Premiership playoff hopes alive. Any question marks over their intensity were erased inside 20 minutes as they secured the bonus point, blowing away a hapless Exeter with wave after wave of attack.

Jack Singleton’s second-half hat-trick and tries from Santiago Carreras, Seb Atkinson and Chris Harris showed Gloucester’s ruthlessness once they sensed Exeter were on the ropes. George Skivington’s team showed little interest in easing off, clocking up their highest-ever points total in a Premiership match.

While the precise source of the rumoured comment remains unclear, if true, the comments must have come from one of Joe Hawkins, Dan John or Dafydd Jenkins. With several Welsh internationals and exiles also in the Gloucester squad – including the likes of Gareth Anscombe, Freddie Thomas and Tomos Williams – the rumour didn’t take long finding its way back to Kingsholm.