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No rest for Scotland skipper Hogg as he starts for Exeter this Saturday

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Exeter boss Rob Baxter has included Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg to start in Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership match at Sandy Park versus Northampton but fellow Scot Jonny Gray and Wales prop Tomas Francis, who also featured as Six Nations starters last week at Murrayfield, have been rested.    

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Baxter had spoken in midweek about the balancing act involved with managing his non-England internationals such as Hogg who were back at Exeter and available to play if needed during these fallow weeks in the Six Nations. 

“It’s great that they are about and they are available, but that doesn’t mean you lump them straight back into the team,” said the Chiefs boss on Wednesday but he went on to note the view of Hogg about how well he had been performing recently. 

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“He feels he is on a roll of form, he is playing well, he is really enjoying it, he is very upbeat about his own individual performances and it’s only what we expected from him. That is why we looked at bringing him to the club and he is certainly performing at that level at the moment.”   

Youngsters Marcus Street, James Kenny, Richard Capstick, Harvey Skinner and Josh Hodge have all played their part for Exeter in recent weeks, helping the reigning Gallagher Premiership champions put together a current three-game winning streak thanks to triumphs over Worcester Warriors, Newcastle Falcons and London Irish.

This quintet will now feature once more for the Chiefs. Capstick, Hodge and Skinner will all start with fly-half Skinner one of two changes to the back division, replacing Joe Simmonds who will start this game on the bench. Hodge switches to the wing in place of Alex Cuthbert, who came off early last week just two games into his latest comeback, meaning Scottish captain Hogg comes in at full-back.

“It’s great that we are starting to see these young players really starting to flourish because it has not been easy for them,” said Baxter after naming his team on Friday. “I don’t mind saying, we have probably been tougher on them in terms of their reviews and their performances than we have on the senior players. They have to turn up each day as winners, not just be happy with being in the first team, and contribute to our success.”

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EXETER (vs Northampton, Saturday)
15 Stuart Hogg; 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Tom Hendrickson, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Josh Hodge; 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Jack Maunder; 1 Alec Hepburn, 2 Jack Yeandle (capt), 3 Harry Williams, 4 Will Witty, 5 Sam Skinner, 6 Dave Ewers, 7 Richard Capstick, 8 Sam Simmonds. Reps: 16 Jack Innard, 17 James Kenny, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Don Armand, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ian Whitten.

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GrahamVF 45 minutes ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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