Exeter’s rise puts Baxter firmly on England’s radar
Chiefs head coach has to be in the discussion when the hunt for Jones’ successor starts
Rob Baxter as the next England coach? Saturday’s Aviva Premiership final will serve many interests: the desire to witness sporting excellence, the thrill of watching the two best attacking sides in the land go sidestep-to-sidestep, the frisson of either a new name on the trophy or the sight of the engraver carving in born-again Wasps as the 2017 champions. There are significant sub-plots at work, too, the most intriguing of which is the possible enhancement of the Rob Baxter CV.
True, Wasps’ Dai Young ought also to be a consideration when the Eddie Jones era comes to an end following the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, but the Welshman’s allegiances might lie elsewhere. There is little doubt that the Rugby Football Union’s succession planning should start to take shape as a topic of conversation pretty soon, even if the union is preoccupied with finding a replacement for its outgoing chief executive, Ian Ritchie.
Let us help them formulate some thoughts. Baxter is a top-end contender, a proven operator across many years, taking Exeter from the Championship right up through the ranks to help them reach their second consecutive Premiership final. You do not do that by fluke. You do that by astute management, by not only having a fine feel for the game but, more importantly, having an empathy for people.
One of the distinguishing marks of a good coach is that he gets everything that there is to be had from players, that he takes the raw product and makes it better. In a nutshell, that is the story of Exeter. Baxter has nurtured the likes of Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-dickie since they were youngsters. They have flourished under his guidance.
Baxter has also proved a dab hand at taking gnarled pros and getting them to deliver yet more in the twilight of their careers, men such as No8 Thomas Waldrom and lock Geoff Parling, or luring international players from overseas, like Wallaby second row Dean Mumm, and getting them to slot seamlessly into west-country ways.
It is simplistic to depict Baxter as a son of the Devon soil (even if he is), as simply a down-toearth, no-nonsense slugger who inculcates earthy values in his teams, who play accordingly, with fire and humility and a sense of togetherness. So much for