GUNS YOUNG
As one of five scrum-halves fighting for firstteam game time at Exeter, Joe Snow might be forgiven for feeling a tad daunted. After all, one of them, Nic White, is a Wallaby international, Jack Maunder played for England last summer, Will Chudley is a seasoned Premiership performer and Stu Townsend... well, he just happened to lead the Chiefs to league title glory last May.
It all adds up to serious competition for Snow, who just for good measure has Maunder’s younger brother, Sam, coming up on the rails. But the 19-year-old remains undaunted and, having been named in England’s U20s squad for the forthcoming Six Nations, former Taunton RFC junior Snow believes he is in the best possible place to advance his burgeoning career.
Snow told TRP: “I’ve got great models who are fantastic blokes and we all help each other out, so it’s a great situation for an aspiring scrum-half to be in. Nic White’s brought real competition to the position and he’s an Australian international who’s raised the intensity to boiling point; Will Chudley I get on well with; and Jack and Stuart are fighting for those places as well.
“Nic’s attitude to rugby is absolutely phenomenal and his ballcarrying and kicking are top notch. He’s always working on his lineout passes and you can tell he’s a No.9 that’s nailed every aspect of his craft in the way he plays with real aggression, which is the Chiefs’ style.”
Snow’s aggression will be tested in the coming weeks when he battles for a Six Nations place, but he has already been receiving a weekly dose of the harsh realities of senior rugby while starring on loan for Plymouth, who are flying high behind Coventry in National One.
“Plymouth’s going really well and I’ve been getting a lot of games down there,” Snow explained. “I’ve been starting most weeks and playing alongside Dan Mugford, who’s had experience of playing in the Premiership with Sale, and it has been a great experience.
“He’s a fiery character, just the way I like it, and he’s a fantastic No.10 to have beside you in your first year of men’s rugby.
“Dan’s welcomed me in, we’ve got to know each other pretty well, and quite a few of us Exeter boys have been benefiting from playing some tough, hard rugby at the Brickfields.”
Among Snow’s heroes are New Zealand’s World Cup-winning pivot Aaron Smith and the unlikelier figure of Australia’s Quade Cooper.
Snow explains: “I played ten at school and my brother and I used to love Cooper’s crazy skills, but once I realised I was a scrum-half I analysed Smith a lot. Rob Gibson, our academy manager, calls him ‘poetic’ so he’s the one I really look up to.”
As for his immediate targets, Snow adds: “I’ll hope to be involved in the Anglo-Welsh Cup with Exeter and then break into the Six Nations squad with England U20s and push some boundaries there. With Ricky Pellow and Haydn Thomas coaching me at Exeter, the role models I have and the experience I’m gaining elsewhere, I don’t think I could be in a better place.”