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The Exeter verdict on Jonny Hill losing out this week with England
Exeter have admitted it wasn’t a great surprise that Jonny Hill won’t be fit in time for England to face Scotland this weekend, head coach Ali Hepher explaining that they believed his availability was touch and go when he left the Chiefs to hook up with Eddie Jones’ squad in Brighton on January 24.
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The 27-year-old was an England starter in all three of his country’s matches across the Autumn Nations Series but he hasn’t played since suffering a stress fracture to his lower leg/high ankle during Exeter’s narrow January 8 Gallagher Premiership loss at Harlequins.
England admitted at their Tuesday media briefing that Hill had yet to feature in full contact training and hopes that he could still be involved in this weekend’s Guinness Six Nations opener were extinguished later that evening when Jones announced a reduced 29-strong squad that excluded the 14-cap Test player.
“As he left us he was really touch and go and they [England] would have done really well to get him out there and play,” explained Hepher at the Chiefs media briefing on Wednesday. “They have obviously done what they could do with him and monitored him and tried to give it as much treatment as possible but he hasn’t quite made it.
“I’m not sure exactly whether he will be fit for the following week (versus Italy on February 13). I’m not even sure whether he comes back to us or stays in camp, but if he comes back to us he will get the best possible treatment and he will be back as soon as possible.”
Despite the exclusion of Hill, Exeter are in the running to potentially still have a seven-strong involvement in the Scotland-England match at Murrayfield, the Scottish trio of Stuart Hogg, Sam Skinner and Jonny Gray possibly lining out against an English quartet of Luke Cowan-Dickie, Sam Simmonds, Henry Slade and Jack Nowell.
It will be Thursday when those two Test teams are named and with Courtney Lawes also unavailable for England, there is the added possibility that Cowan-Dickie could be named as skipper to take on a Scotland team set to be captained by Hogg.
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Cowan-Dickie is one of three vice-captains in the running for promotion with England and while Sale’s Tom Curry is tipped to eventually get the nod ahead of the Exeter hooker and Leicester’s Ellis Genge, Hepher believes the Test captaincy would be something the Chiefs forward would relish.
“Look, you don’t get to captain your country by chance. If he did get it, and I don’t know, it would be huge for him. The thing with Luke is he won’t get carried away with it, he won’t take it for granted or anything. You’ll get the same energy and enthusiasm and spirit on the field, so I don’t think it will affect him either way.
“He has said already he will just crack on whether he is the skipper or not, but he has done really well. Over the last couple of years, he has really matured into that role. He skippers the side here (at Exeter) very well.
“He demands a high standard of training and performance, so he is a very good leader in the sense that he will put himself out for every training session and he will fight and be competitive within every training session. It would be a huge honour for him but something he would thoroughly deserve if he gets it.
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“They have gone fantastically well here,” added Hepher about the four players still in the mix for England selection. “I’m glad they are pressing their international claims and certainly there is a few of them starting to establish themselves as mainstays of that England team which is great to see.
“Plus obviously, Sam is starting to get more recognition and get more involvements. Hopefully, that bodes well for the future. And Jack certainly fully deserves his call up because his performance is fantastic for us and he is sort of right back up to his best. We’ll look forward to seeing them, seeing how they perform on the top stage.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments