BUT EXETER’S BAXTER INSISTS: ENGLAND ARE NOT MENTALLY WEAK

ENGLAND’S players are not mentally fragile according to the top English coach in the Premiership, Rob Baxter The Exeter Chiefs director of rugby, who many feel would be an ideal replacement for Eddie Jones when he leaves his post, has nurtured several England stars Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Harry Williams and Luke Cowan-Dickie are all back in club action for the Chiefs against Bath tomorrow And Baxter thinks, despite losing to Wales and drawing against Scotland after being 31-0 up, England’s Six Nations should be viewed positively ‘It was a step forward from last year,’ said Baxter ‘They had pretty much two halves of rugby they would be unhappy with over the competition ‘Some people seem to think that takes masses of changes, it doesn’t The Scottish second half was a combination of an awful lot of things — almost a one-off scenario I don’t think it has anything to do with mental weakness There’s probably a bit more concern with the Wales game where England were in a very strong position and just a couple of moments went against them ‘They weren’t things that aren’t reversible though ‘In the bigger picture they’re on an upward curve ’ But Baxter thinks Jones needs to use winger Nowell more ‘Jack, as always, is a key momentum man for any team he plays in,’ he added ‘With England, he probably still gets under-utilised in that role ‘He may not be someone who is going to scorch round the outside like Jonny May, but he has other attributes that will create space for other players ‘He is probably not on the ball quite as much as I would like to see him ’ Exeter, losing finalists last year, are top of the league by eight points and 18 ahead of Harlequins in third But ahead of their Bath match tomorrow Baxter does not think the Chiefs are home and dry yet ‘We still have a lot to fight for,’ he said