The 'nowhere near' Exeter update on Nowell contract negotiations

Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter has delivered an update on the Gallagher Premiership club’s contract negotiations with England winger Jack Nowell. It was just a few weeks ago that Sam Simmonds, Nowell’s club and country colleague, confirmed that he was joining Montpellier after the 2023 World Cup in France and that decision has heightened the speculation surrounding what the 29-year-old seasoned back might decide to do for the 2023/24 club season.

There have been strong rumours that Nowell could well follow Simmonds into ending his Test career and seeking out a switch to the French Top 14 because other than some Championship matches for Plymouth and Cornish Pirates in the early days of his career, he has been part of the furniture at Exeter since making an Anglo-Welsh Cup debut in October 2011.

DoR Baxter, though, believes that negotiations aren’t yet at that stage and he sounded confident at his weekly media briefing ahead of the now-postponed Premiership game versus Wasps that Nowell could yet be part of the Exeter set-up next season. “Conversations are ongoing,” he said.

“Sometimes things get put in the press for obvious reasons because people start asking questions, but you are normally in ongoing dialogue with your players around these things. It’s not like there are no conversations around contracts and then we start a conversation. Conversations have been ongoing with Jack for a while and they are heading in the direction they are heading in.

“There is every chance that he will stay. I’m not making decisions for him right now, but timescales are going to become pressing for a decision to get made for both parties - but they are not going to happen in the next 24 hours. Those discussions are ongoing and as far as I am concerned they are going along okay.

“Jack and I have known each other for a long time and we have had a lot of contract discussions in the past. We can have three discussions about it in a day, to be honest, it’s not a big deal. It’s not like we sit in a room and I push a piece of paper in front of him and say sign that now or else you walk away. Contract negotiations are never like that and I don’t expect they ever will be.”

Does media speculation about high-profile players such as Nowell possibly quitting Sandy Park ever get under the skin of Baxter, the long-serving Exeter boss? “I don’t think so. The media works the way it does. That is how it works and you have just got to get used to it. If you jump up and down every time you see something about player speculation in the press, you’re never going to do anything else but be concerned about what is going on.

“I’m not sitting here for one second saying Jack Nowell is definitely staying and I’m not saying he is definitely going, it is just an ongoing situation. It ended up being a quite quick call around Sam Simmonds for various reasons because everything just dropped into place with Montpellier losing a player, with Sam being available so that was a very easy one once I sat down with Sam.

“It was almost a non-conversation. It wasn’t a conversation about his contract, it was a non-conversation about his contract, that is how clear-cut it was. That was fine. Those circumstances happen and I’ll be very open and honest, we said you don’t need to think there is an issue here if it is easier just to get it done before it all starts to drift and speculation happens.

“Let’s just make the announcement, which we did, and it will be the same with Jack. If Jack wants us to make a statement on him leaving we will make one, but we are certainly nowhere near that situation at the moment.”