Horstmann honoured as Exeter land more silverware

Exeter gave Kai Horstmann the perfect retirement present by winning the first silverware of the season and their second Anglo-welsh Cup in four years.

Horstmann, the former England Saxons No 8, will retire at the end of the season to start a job in Exeter’s commercial department. As he has yet to feature in Exeter’s Premiership title defence, this is likely to have been his last senior appearance and he signed off by lifting the trophy as captain for the day.

“When you’re getting absolutely flogged in pre-season, and you have done it for a long time like I have, it’s pretty horrific but moments like this completely make up for it,” the 36-year-old said.

“I don’t know how many times people get the opportunity to play in finals throughout their career, but I suspect, for the majority, you can count them on one hand. So when you get an opportunity to win it and bang it in like we did is something special.”

Exeter will hope to add further silverware in the remaining two months of the season. They are currently eight points clear of Saracens at the top of the Premiership and demonstrated the depth of their squad by including only one player – Joe Simmonds – who started in last week’s league win at Bath in a much-changed team.

“We are blessed with youngsters coming through who very much buy into what we are doing. We know how we target the season and every bit of silverware is precious for us and we do that as a squad,” Horstmann said.

“We train as a squad. The non-match-day squad will put in a hell of a shift to make sure that the 23

are prepared going into Premiership games. Exactly the same when we are in an Anglo-welsh week.”

Bath failed to match Exeter’s firsthalf intensity and found themselves 17 points adrift after hooker Jack Innard smuggled over for two tries and lock Toby Salmon for another.

Cooper Vuna’s try and a penalty from Freddie Burns hinted at a fightback but Bath, as they have so often in recent weeks, lacked composure in attack.

Having won this competition 10 times in 13 seasons immediately before rugby went professional in 1996, Bath have won only two trophies in the last 20 years, the last of them the European Challenge Cup in 2008. Another barren season beckons as they are eight points off a play-off place and struggling to qualify for next season’s European Champions Cup.

“It’s too early to be talking about where we sit on the ladder. We are playing for pride. We need to get performances on the track, if we do that we will get results,” said director of rugby Todd Blackadder.