Skinner enjoying new-found freedom at Exeter
REVVED-UP Exeter lock Sam Skinner is a man on a dual-mission to put Chiefs back on top of the Premiership and reclaim his Scotland place. A disappointing January saw Chiefs lose to rivals Wasps and Bristol, while Skinner was omitted from Gregor Townsend’s initial Six Nations squad. However, after ending a trying month with a crucial win at Worcester, the Exeter-born enforcer is reenergised and ready to state his Test claim. Skinner, who lines up against Newcastle today, told TRP: “Naturally, I’m disappointed not to be in Scotland’s squad or to have lined up against England, but I’ve had honest chats with the coaches and know what I need to do.
“Ultimately, it’s their opinion that counts and the only way I can change that now is by trying to get better. Of course, I want to play international rugby and I’ll keep trying to get back up there, but for now my sole focus has to be with Exeter.
“It’s my general play I’m really trying to work on. Set-piece stuff is a big part of my game but it’s also about trying to contribute more in carrying and tackles and being around the park in a manner where I can be more effective.
“It’s actually freed me up a bit so I can really enjoy my rugby, as silly as that may sound. I’m just looking to get my hands on the ball and be excited to get involved as much as possible away from the set piece.”
Skinner added: “If you had to put numbers on your role as a lock, you’d want to put in over ten tackles, over ten carries and upwards of say 20-30 clear-outs in a game, but I don’t just look at that, it’s the quality of your work that counts. The better the quality of your work, the bigger the rewards the team will get from it.”
After an emotional six months in which Exeter became Premiership and European champions and a dozen of their players, Skinner included, were involved in the extended Autumn International period, a dip in form always seemed to be inevitable.
Having bounced back at Worcester, Skinner believes the worst is now over as Chiefs head to Kingston Park aiming to consolidate a top-two position.
He said: “We were definitely happy with a hard-fought win at Worcester, so we’ve put down block one now and it’s important we build on that.
“It’s been an exciting period, which is a good thing, but we’ve taken time to reset, refocus and align all our targets again as staff, players and coaches.
“The target now is to do it all over again – we want to win both competitions and we’re not going to shy away from stating those intentions.
“But we also know that if we just do the same things as last year, we probably won’t get the same results, so we’ve got to adapt and improve.
“There’ll be challenges with that but we’re excited about it and we’re always trying to evolve how we play.
“We want to play good rugby that Exeter fans get behind, but ultimately that’s winning rugby by whatever means possible.”
The arduous 740-mile round-trip to Newcastle affords the Chiefs players a rare opportunity to socialise as a group. Skinner, 26, added: “It’s a long old trip but it’s also an exciting challenge and I’m looking forward to the whole weekend. We’ve got to go in two buses but it’s a time when we can actually socialise as players.
“Newcastle have been going well and were in the top four going into the weekend – and deservedly so. They’re a strong outfit who carry hard and are physical, but that’s not dissimilar to us and we’re ready for a big, physical challenge.”