Exeter hint at England player gamble despite their winless start

Rob Baxter has dropped a major hint that his three Exeter players who have been away with England this week might not start Saturday’s crunch Gallagher Premiership clash with west country rivals Bristol Bears at Sandy Park.

The Chiefs have been without Greg Fisilau, Ethan Roots and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who have all been involved in a 36-man England training camp and haven’t been able to train with the Sandy Park club who have lost their opening three top-flight matches for the first time ever.

Exeter's players are off on Thursday, meaning the trio will have missed the bulk of the preparation which Baxter admitted wasn’t ideal when looking for a first win against an opposition who have scored 101 points in its three games.

“It’s not an ideal preparation week when you haven’t won a game, of course, but from England’s perspective, they want to get something in in the build-up to the autumn internationals,” reasoned Baxter.

“I can understand it. They have changed it to one camp over three days rather than more sporadic camps based around one or two days. Although it feels like it is a bigger hit because it’s a three-day camp, the reality is that it is less onerous across the season. It’s one of those things.

“We will select our squad based on that because our training week, which this week is from Monday to Wednesday with Thursday being a down day. We haven’t had them for any training day this week. They can catch up on the details and bits and pieces around the lineout online. Hopefully, they will pick up on that.”

The Chiefs are ninth in the Premiership table with just two bonus points to show for their efforts, but Baxter isn’t pressing the panic button and believes they are just one win away from igniting an extended winning run.

“We could be in a scenario if we lose to Bristol where people will say Exeter are in a bit of dogfight now. I’m not overly worried about this weekend’s result. I know that might sound strange. I’d love us to win – and we are doing everything we can to win – but if we lose, it creates a remarkable opportunity to see what the club is about.

“I actually think we are one win away from going on a run of wins. That is what it feels like to me. It just getting that first win and getting the weight off our shoulders.”