Last time we rotated the squad it led to one of the season’s best performances

THERE is an argument that Exeter Chiefs have wobbled during the Six Nations.

Missing six players to the various home nations will cause issues for any side, and Leicester themselves used to suffer from the problem when they provided the spine of the English team.

That having been said, a wobble for Exeter would be a set of results that the Tigers of recent vintage can currently only dream about.

Losses to Sale and Northampton, a close victory over Harlequins and the rest won relatively comfortably would have most teams reaching for the champagne.

But it is a testament to the consistency the West Country side have reached that those results are seen as below their normal level.

Meanwhile, Leicester have their own absentees to international rugby, albeit less in number than Exeter, and also a number of injuries and suspensions to trouble Steve Borthwick’s selection.

In truth, there is a decent argument that the Leicester absentees are more influential to the Tigers cause than those from Exeter.

Partly this is positional and partly it’s because the Tigers are still firmly in a rebuilding stage and the certainty that the

Exeter squad has in its playing style is still a work in progress for Leicester. True to form, for this – on paper – difficult game with historically limited opportunities for the win, Borthwick, below, has shuffled the pack with eight changes to the starting line-up, and Tom Youngs, Richard Wigglesworth and Calum Green all completely spared the long trip down to Exeter.

The forwards are where the main changes are made, with last week’s replacement front row starting, and James Whitcomb and Jake Kerr brought in to man the bench.

Lavanini and Cam Henderson start in the second row. Meanwhile, the back row still looks very useful indeed with Hanro Liebenberg captaining the side from number eight joined by Tommy Reffel and Cyle Brink.

There is some sense in rotating the squad at this point, and the fact that the last time that tactic was used was, in context, one of the best performances of the season, albeit in defeat to Harlequins, indicates that the squad depth is improving to the degree that the heart no longer sinks when the nominal first 15 isn’t playing.

However, given Exeter’s slight wobbles, it would have been fascinating to see the Tigers target this game against the best.

The fans will hope that the rotation means next week against Dean Richards’ Newcastle Falcons becomes a home banker.