I played 5 minutes for England – and it really burned!
DEVOTO CALL-UP NO CAKEWALK
OLLIE DEVOTO had no idea. Not a clue. In fact, the day before England’s latest squad was named by Eddie Jones, no one at Exeter had an inkling that their cake- baking centre was going to be recalled.
Having struggled not long ago to hold down a place in Exeter’s midfield, he has an unexpected opportunity to press for a place in England’s World Cup squad.
Asked to explain why he picked 25-year- old Devoto, Jones said: ‘He is a guy we used a lot early, a good strong centre, with a little bit of footwork. He has had a terrible time with injuries.
When we went to Argentina (in June 2017), Exeter won the Premiership that year. They had a massive party. He came into camp and he was ill. He obviously drank something that wasn’t too good, or ate something that wasn’t too good. Maybe it was one of those Cornish pasties!
‘Then he hurt a nerve doing a bench press in the gym. Since then he has had a very disrupted time and it is nice to see him back playing consistently. He is a good player who can play 12, 13 and could play 10 for you at a pinch off the bench. He is a good lad who works hard.’
Devoto’s call-up comes days after he delivered a stunning off- load during Exeter’s Champions Cup victory over Castres. The deft back-hand pass out of a tackle drew swift comparisons with a certain All Blacks centre known for his off-loading, and he was dubbed ‘Sonny Bill Devoto’. ‘I’ll take that,’ he said. ‘ I’m not sure about that, but I’ll take it!’
His team-mates call him various things — none of them quite as complimentary. Soon after joining from Bath, Devoto was nicknamed ‘Neil’ after the character from The
Inbetweeners. ‘He’s the dumb one who’s a bit goofy,’ said Devoto. ‘Harsh but fair, maybe!’
In truth, Devoto is not dumb at all and he has an awareness of where he stands. A couple of months ago, he was frustrated by limited game time. Now he faces Munster in a high-stakes encounter at Thomond Park today before joining up with England for their own Irish showdown in Dublin on February 2 in the Six Nations.
All of a sudden, there is a chance that he could add to his one cap for a five-minute cameo against Wales at Twickenham in 2016.
‘I remember it,’ he said. ‘I got a couple of touches. Of course you remember your first cap and it was my only cap so I’m going to remember it. It was a little taste and when you have a taste, then you don’t get it again for a couple of years, it burns a little bit.’ In Jones’ first game in charge, against Scotland at Murrayfield, Devoto was an unused replacement. Then England fielded an extra forward on the bench for the next match and he was left out and a blow to the head while playing for Bath ruled out any hope of involvement in that 2016 Grand Slam campaign.
‘ You believe in yourself and believe that you’re ready to go, but ultimately it is the coach’s decision if you get on or not,’ said Devoto. ‘I was in the squad then I was out again, but it didn’t affect me too much. The desire is still 100 per cent there to play for England again.’
While he has been waiting for another opportunity, Devoto has been making his presence felt in another pressurised environment — Exeter’s Cookie Club.
‘I’m a member now, but it took me a long time to get in,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to write in and there’s a vetting process. Basically, we have a slice of cake and a chat every week. I’m not actually sure why it’s called the Cookie Club, but when I joined it was already quite a prestigious club here, so I’m not asking too many questions!
‘There are quite a few of the big forwards in the club. They all like a bit of cake. Me and Gareth Steenson represent the backs.
‘We take it in turns to bring the cake. You get more points if you cook it yourself. I always bring a home-made cake and mine is normally a banana loaf, because they’re quite easy to do. Everything just goes in one bowl, so the margin for error is pretty slim.’
Exeter will need more than flour power this evening but Devoto is adamant they won’t be fazed by the occasion. ‘We’ve played in finals. We’re used to that sort of environment,’ he said. ‘Whatever the result is, we’ll remember this weekend for a long time.’
In fact, Devoto will remember the whole week for a long time. EDINBURGH secured a home Champions Cup quarter- final by beating Montpellier 19-10 at Murrayfield last night to top Pool 5. Newcastle were beaten 27- 24 at home by Toulon to finish bottom. Montpellier’s failure to secure a losing bonus point means Glasgow also go through.