Exeter change two for Champions Cup final, recall fit-again Nowell

Rob Baxter has made two changes to his Exeter side to face Racing in Saturday's Champions Cup final following their Premiership semi-final win last Saturday over Bath.

Up front, Baxter sticks with an unchanged pack from that which saw off Bath 35-6, but behind there are two changes with Ian Whitten - on his 200th Premiership and Champions Cup appearance for the club - given the nod in midfield over Ollie Devoto, while Jack Nowell comes in on the wing for Olly Woodburn.

England winger Nowell, 27, wasn’t included in the league semi-final selection due to a foot injury sustained in the European semi-final against Toulouse, his place going to Woodburn.

But Baxter hinted at Wednesday's pre-Champions Cup final media conference that Nowell was in his thoughts to start for Exeter despite not playing since September 26.

“We take a long time on selection and we look at all of those things. You look at Jack, how he played before he picked up that foot injury late on against Toulouse, how he played against Northampton when he scored a fantastic try in that game, how he has played in other big games for us," Baxter explained.

“I don’t think I have seen a winger play a better game in the Premiership final than Jack Nowell played last season, so you look at that and you know what he’s capable of doing. But at the same time, we have to watch him train and assess it carefully to make sure he is at the level to be able to perform like that.

"At the same time, we have to be able to take into account the performances of Tom O’Flaherty, who has been very consistent over an extended period of time, and Olly Woodburn, who came back and had a great game in the (league) semi-final after a little period out with an injury."

EXETER (vs Racing, Saturday)

15 Stuart Hogg

14 Jack Nowell

13 Henry Slade

12 Ian Whitten

11 Tom O’Flaherty

10 Joe Simmonds (capt)

9 Jack Maunder

1 Alec Hepburn

2 Luke Cowan-Dickie

3 Harry Williams

4 Jonny Gray

5 Jonny Hill

6 Dave Ewers

7 Jacques Vermeulen

8 Sam Simmonds

Replacements

16 Jack Yeandle

17 Ben Moon

18 Tomas Francis

19 Sam Skinner

20 Jannes Kirsten

21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne

22 Gareth Steenson

23 Ollie Devoto