Maunder relieved to sign on for one more

EXETER CHIEFS scrumhalf Jack Maunder is aiming for Premiership glory after extending his stay at last year’s beaten finalists

Maunder, capped by England against Argentina in 2017, has agreed an additional year as he looks to recapture his best form following injury last season.

The 21-year-old pivot missed virtually the entire 2017-18 campaign due to a series of niggling injuries before undergoing knee surgery last February.

He told The Rugby Paper: “It’s nerve-wracking when you get towards the end of a contract so this is a big relief, especially when it’s a place you want to stay.”

Maunder, who joins the likes of England trio Henry Slade, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jack Nowell in signing on again, added: “We’ve got an ambitious group of boys here who want to win trophies, so with all the other guys re-signing it’s an exciting time for the club.

“There’s a really good core of us who’ve been part of the academy and guys like Sladey, Dickie and Nowellsy have been part of this club for a long time. You look up to them and want to emulate their success and what they’ve done for Exeter.”

While Maunder accepts his England hopes are temporarily on hold, he said: “Hopefully I can get myself back into contention, and the way to do that is by playing week-in, week-out for your club and being the best No.9 in the Premiership.

“I’m a fair bit off that yet but I’ve been happy with my season so far and I’ve been getting quite a few starts. We’re lucky to have a great group of nines here, not just pushing for the first team but in the academy too, so it’s very competitive.

“This is the best place for me, though, because you need to be at your best every week.”

Last month’s Champions Cup loss at Munster means only the Premiership remains for Chiefs, but Maunder adds: “That was disappointing but we pushed Munster close and not many teams do that, so we felt we took a big step forward.

“Having the Premiership as our big target now focuses the mind.”