Exeter latest on recruitment, 'touch and go' Jenkins/Slade update

Rob Baxter has explained that a decision on whether or not to retain Martin Moloney, the back row forward released by Leinster at the end of the 2023/24 season, will be reached after his trial period concludes with a start at openside in this Saturday’s pre-season clash with London Scottish.

The Chiefs are hosting a Sandy Park double-header with Cornish Pirates also set to visit and Baxter, after naming two separate starting line-ups, insisted that his summer recruitment drive hasn’t ended despite Tuesday’s confirmation of the signings of midfielder Tamati Tua from the Brumbies and loosehead Kwenzo Blose from the Stormers.

Speaking on Wednesday, just days after it was revealed that Wales skipper Dafydd Jenkins had undergone operations to mend shoulder and knee issues, Baxter told the media assembled at the Exeter new-season media day that he was still looking to add his squad.

“We are looking to bring in a lock because we know now Dafydd is going to be out for a little while and Christ (Tshiunza) also has got a little bit of a sore shoulder, but that kind of now looks less worrying than we thought. It probably leaves us a little bit light in the back five because we have trimmed out squad numbers a bit as well, so we’re looking at a lock.

“We have got Martin Moloney here on trial, he will be playing this weekend. His trial period finishes after this weekend. We are having a look at him from Leinster to see if he would be a good guy to add to our squad and obviously we are always looking at the young lads coming through and how they are contract wise.

“A great example, Ben Coen. He came through our academy and took our advice to continue his career at Exeter University. He wanted to go to uni, so that was great. He worked really hard there, broke through into their BUCS team, broke into the England U20s, goes and wins a World Cup at U20s and is now a contracted player at Exeter.

“Those kind of things are happening all the time. We have never been a team that has said, ‘That is the squad, it’s settled’. For me, recruitment is ongoing every day of the year really and we will continue to work that way.”

Asked if the sidelined Welsh lock Jenkins and England midfielder Henry Slade, who also underwent shoulder surgery following his summer tour, would be unavailable for their respective teams’ Autumn Nations Series in November, Baxter reckoned: “They are both in slightly different scenarios.

“They are both really good rehabbers. I wouldn’t want to sit here and write them off for the autumn internationals because that is not right for me to do that.

"It’s one of those things: once they don’t make the autumn internationals then there is that month period that extends things and then hopefully we will get them back around that period where there is those big Prem games and Champions Cup games around Christmas.

“I’d like to think there is chance of us having them back in club action by then. Whether they can make autumn internationals, that is the thing that is going to touch and go.”