Test cap Maunder prepared to be patient at Chiefs
EXETER scrum-half Jack Maunder believes a season in the shadows will stand him in good stead as he plots a pathway to an England recall.
Maunder, 20, enjoyed a stellar 2016-17 campaign, rising from obscurity to help guide Chiefs to a first Premiership title before winning his first Test cap in Argentina.
However, a reality check this season has seen Maunder and another of last year’s rising stars, Stu Townsend, confined to Exeter’s second string while summer signing Nic White and experienced Will Chudley have monopolised the No.9 jersey.
Maunder knows the task he faces, saying “Eddie Jones has phoned me a couple of times and said I’ve got to be playing week-in, week-out for Exeter, which makes everything simple and gives me a clear target to focus on.
“Last summer with England was awesome but I knew this year wasn’t going to be exactly the same and there’d be different stuff going on.
“The amount I played last season spiralled upwards because of injury to others and, although I enjoyed it at the time, I was fully aware that there were going to be four first team No.9s at Exeter and we’d be starting with a clean slate.
“I had a good couple of games in pre-season and then played at Gloucester, but since then I’ve had a few niggles and I’m at the stage now where my body’s been maturing and I’ve been getting more used to the rigours of top-class rugby.
“I’m not sure patience is the right word because it’s been pretty tough not playing for the first team, but it’s also more about development and, hopefully, in six or seven years I’ll look back on this season as the time I got my body right.”
While the arrival of Wallabies star White has limited his chances, Maunder says of the Aussie’s influence: “There’s never been a foreign No.9 at the club in my time and in other countries people have different thoughts on the game.
“Nic’s played many times for Australia and he’s probably getting a bit annoyed with me asking questions, but he’s really been helping me with my big box-kicking and exit strategies, areas I’ve needed to work on.
“I’m just trying to get my basics sorted because what propelled me forward last year was making good decisions. The scrum-half competition at Chiefs is fierce, but I’m desperate to force my way back in and move my career on again.”
That competition is set to intensify, with Maunder’s younger brother, Sam, making waves in Exeter’s U18s, while England U20s man Joe Snow and another Chiefs academy starlet, James Tait, are gathering pace in the background.
The Maunder brothers, whose father Andy captained Chiefs, recently skippered their respective ‘A’ and U18s sides at Sandy Park, with proud Jack adding:
“There’s a real scrum-half production factory at Chiefs and it was a great day for the family.”