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Rob Baxter explains spying mission plan to fix depleted Exeter squad

By Neil Fissler
Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter at last Saturday's loss to Leicester (Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Rob Baxter has admitted he is ready to return to his happy hunting ground, BUCS Super Rugby, to bolster his injury-hit Exeter squad. The Chiefs director of rugby was set to travel to Topham on a spying mission on Wednesday afternoon to watch Exeter University open their campaign against Loughborough Students.

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Baxter’s squad has been hit by injuries at inside centre and scrum-half and he claimed that anyone who impresses him could face Premiership champions Northampton Saints this weekend. Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza, Ross Vintcent and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso have all gone from playing BUCS rugby to the Test arena within a couple of seasons.

This success rate has left Baxter admitting that he would rather give Joe Bailey, Kaine James or Ben Coen, whom he says are “a stone’s throw” away from his squad, a game rather than bring in a short-term journeyman.

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“We are pretty thin, to be honest with you, so we are now looking at our academy guys. The good news is a couple of them will be playing a BUCS game this afternoon, so I will be going down and looking at that.

“The reality is that one of those lads, if they play well, could be playing Premiership rugby in a week or two, but we are going to be in that cycle for a year or two.

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28 Sep 24
Exeter Chiefs
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“It was always going to be a year or two when you see the young guys breaking through and establishing what will be our front-line group for five or six years going forward and we are very happy to accept that.

“I’m not sitting here ready to ship in a journeyman at inside centre to fill in for a bit. That is not what I’m looking to do. I would rather have two academy lads playing in the centre next week in the Premiership.

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“That is how we are going to approach these periods if we have to. The best part of the job for me is recruitment and looking at players.”

Ben Hammersley (concussion) and Niall Armstrong (ankle) have been added to a long injury list that includes Henry Slade, Jenkins, Tamati Tua and Tommy Wyatt, most of whom are a month away from playing again for a team that launched its new Premiership campaign with a last-gasp 17-14 home defeat to Leicester at the weekend.

Baxter did have some good news, however, about flanker Jacques Vermeulen, who suffered a knee injury in the final warm-up game against Ulster. He could be back training in a couple of weeks.

“It doesn’t look as bad as initially feared. It’s a swollen, bruised knee with a bit of bone bruising more than ligament and cartilage damage. We are hoping that in the next couple of weeks, he will be back in full training, and we can start to progress with him.”

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C
CO 36 minutes ago
Hard to see what the All Blacks are building unlike South Africa

This is exactly it. Cane is a tough cookie and I admire him but he's had his go and didn't quite make it at RWC and that was in 2019, he had another go and didn't quite make it in 2023 and has made it very clear he's retiring.


Cane is missing it tackles at times and is part of a loose forward trio that's lost two from three and incredibly lucky to sneak a win against the Wallabies who were all over the Allblacks like rash.


And yet we get the distinct impression we are all supposed to be feting him as a legend that's being given 100 test caps because he's been in the Allblacks since 2012.


Savea had also had a good go and been not quite good enough in 2019 and 2023 also. Two key loose forwards that has one definitely not at the 2027 world cup and Savea who is simply not going to be good enough by then to retain the number eight position.


Meanwhile we've three larger, younger Dalton carrying the tackle bags as soon as Cane got over a back injury and we are literally dying in the final half of each game as our two aged loose forwards fade.


Married to that we've DMac, a delightful player with tremendous skill. Very elusive like one of the small Bok wingers. The problem is that he simply doesn't shut down and manage territory, hes tantalizingly close but no cigar and he's now 29. A case of he's not going to change.


Will Jordan is the ordained fullback and the plan is to ensure he lacks any competition by picking his under study at the Crusaders, a guy that hasn't done anything yet unlike several other fullback candidates.


Reece, another DMac, small and tantalizingly close but not test standard.


Meanwhile the Allblacks now seen to all get long term contracts and if half descent it just keeps going like David Havilis.


The Allblacks need urgent reform, players need to be on retainers at super level and then picked seasonally.


The world cup squad build years are now, 2025 with firmed up squad by late 2026. There seems to be very little recognition of that or the contracts the rugby players association have got the NZ union to agree to prevent a surge in players capped to see if they have what it takes.


The painful losses in South Africa were avoidable with a heavier six forward ratio on the bench, Beauden at ten. Cane ir Savea leading in a NZ answer to the bomb squad


Big fan of Razor but he's going to have to build depth, get ruthless and leave at home players he knows what they give him at test level that aren't threatening to start and blood new caps.


It's becoming obvious he's got a Crusaders bias and needs to stop it quick, he's in my view been a flop so far and Schmidt would've been the better pick.


Can Razor sort this crisis out? Each test he trundles out the DMac, Cane and Ardie show I get less and less confident.

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