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'Why I have been looking at the market': Baxter explains Sio deal

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Exeter boss Rob Baxter has explained what convinced him to sign seasoned Wallabies front-rower Scott Sio. The expectation was that the 30-year-old loosehead would stay on at an Australian Super Rugby Pacific franchise in the run-up to the 2023 World Cup in France, but the Chiefs dispelled that notion by snapping up the forward on an unspecified length long-term deal.

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Sio, who turns 31 in October, packed down twice last month versus England and he was recalled on Thursday to the Wallabies squad to take on the Springboks later in August having missed the recent two-game trip to Argentina through injury.

Baxter had let it be known in recent weeks that Exeter were still in the market for a loosehead for the upcoming 2022/23 season, but speculation linking them to Sio was thin on the ground until the signing was confirmed on Wednesday.

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The long-serving director of rugby has since spoken about why he chased down Sio, explaining why he thinks the Brumbies prop – who has 71 Wallabies caps – will be perfect for Exeter when he arrives in October following the conclusion of the Rugby Championship.

“I’m really excited about Scott coming, especially as he is going to drop in straight from the Rugby Championship in October,” said Baxter on the Exeter website. “Personally, I think he is going to be one of those guys who is going to be an immediate hit in the Premiership and I’m quite excited about the pack of forwards we are growing here at the club.

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“The Brumbies, to be fair, are probably known as being a forward-orientated team in Super Rugby, which is very important for us. Scott has obviously been there quite some time, but he has also got great experience at Test level. He is also not that old, he has been given a clean bill of health from the medical people, so he is good to go which is fantastic.

“I don’t mind saying, right now I’m not sure if any of our young looseheads have really grabbed the position by the scruff of the neck yet, which is why I have been looking at the market. As far as I am concerned, we now have a good group of senior looseheads, so it is going to be a bit more of a battle for some of these younger lads to knock them off their perches, especially as they will need to work extremely hard to do that.”

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1 Comment
m
mark 820 days ago

This is a great move by Exeter. He's a class player and his experience is what every team wants.

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CO 16 minutes ago
Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

I cannot believe that you don't think the French rugby team coach and captain are not discussing putting Jalibert on the bench in favour of Duponts club teammate that doesn't even play at 10.


This is a terrible, massive insult to a 10 and I'm sure Dupont would also be very enraged if benched for a player that doesn't even play halfback.


A good captain would've insisted to the coach that it was an idea of madness and either select Jalibert or replace him with another 10 if you want him to be reserve.


Jalibert may not be the world's finest tacklers but that's often not a tens main strength that the loose forwards and second five cover. An intercept pass is never great but they happen.


When any player is playing for his club then it's club first, respect doesn't need to be shown to opposition players simply because they're internationals.


Who exactly are you claiming Jalibert hasn't respected? If it's Toulouse international players then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this bench demotion out.


The outcome of selecting Jalibert to the bench and he then throwing his croissants out the window of the team bus immediately prior to playing the Allblacks is a disaster that will be team disharmony as any team mates of Jalibert are in a state of anger and revolt so a performance that will be sub optimal against a team that is thirsting for revenge against France.


I don't know about you but the Allblacks are very upset they've lost twice in a row to France and want to put out a statement performance so this preparation by Galthie of creating havoc looks to me like a coach that is clueless.

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