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The 2 problem positions Exeter chairman freely admits they traditionally struggle to fill locally

(Photo by INPHO via EPCR)

Exeter Chairman Tony Rowe is a man for pulling his punches when talking to the media, and he didn’t shy away from pinpointing the two positions that the good people of Devon and Cornwall have not been able to supply them with.

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While Exeter have a proud record of developing players and have produced homegrown England star likes Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie, Rowe admits two positions have been harder to fill than most with local talent.

“More than half the squad today have come through our academy. But they don’t grow very tall in Cornwall or Devon, I don’t know why. So we’ve had to bring in our locks,” said Rowe.

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Jack Nowell talks about a possible Exeter Chiefs dynasty

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Jack Nowell talks about a possible Exeter Chiefs dynasty

“And for some reason we don’t breed good full-backs. With the boys coming through the academy, you can only get what you’ve got. Rob Baxter is bringing in these guys because we haven’t got anyone of that standard.”

Eyebrows were raised when the club – who have traditionally valued developing local talent and identifying and improving non-star players – signed Scotland internationals Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray, and now Rowe’s comments shed more light on the thinking behind the high profile acquisitions.

“We could probably find some local locks, but none have popped their head above the parapet. People say ‘why did you get Jonny Gray or Stuart Hogg?’ It’s because we haven’t had one come through our academy who is good enough. If you haven’t got them coming through your own production line, you’ve got to go out and bring them in.”

Hogg especially has been a revelation for the Chiefs, seamlessly filling the void left by the exit of Pumas magician Santiago Cordero in 2019.

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NOTABLE CHIEFS LOCK SIGNINGS:
Ryan Caldwell
Dave Dennis
Jonny Gray
Jonny Hill
Dean Mumm
Geoff Parling
Sam Skinner

NOTABLE CHIEFS FULLBACK SIGNINGS:
Chrysander Botha
Facundo Cordero
Santiago Cordero
Phil Dollman
Stuart Hogg
Josh Hodge

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AM 11 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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