Baxter maintains his stance of looking within Sandy Park first
WHILE Rob Baxter’s job title might be director of rugby, at heart he is still a coach. The Exeter Chiefs boss says nothing gives him more joy than developing players either from the club’s prestigious academy, or improving a player who hasn’t high the same heights elsewhere.
In recent years Exeter have made headline grabbing signings to raise the standard of the club into serious silverware contenders, and the Premiership and Champions Cup trophies back in the foyer at Sandy Park suggest it has worked.
In 2019/20 it was Scottish international captain Stuart Hogg, in 2020/21 it was Scotland lock Richie Gray, but Baxter said it is unlikely the club will be using the same blueprint ahead of the 2021/22 season with the salary cap reducing and money tight in the game due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Baxter said: “I would like to think we are not going to need to make statement signings.
“The reality is the balance of the squad is nearly always the most important thing for a director of rugby to consider. We obviously got our balance right last season because we had success, that doesn’t mean it is perfectly right this season but it is not far off.
“We are a relatively young team and I think that is the thing I need to look at, how we can mature and develop.
“That is more my concern, about bringing through this group to play at a higher level rather than searching the world for players, I think we have maybe moved beyond that. Now it is about developing ourselves, that feels far more crucial than going out and looking for an additional player at this stage.”
With Wales international prop Tomas Francais leaving the club in the summer to join Ospreys to keep his international ambitions alive, as he would be ineligible for selection under the WRU’s 60 cap policy for players plying their trade outside of the Pro14, Baxter admitted tighthead is one crucial area he is considering bringing in reinforcements.
He said: “We are not rushing into recruiting anyone, we are having a good look at the market, I don’t mind saying that.
“I am probably looking at a different type of prop from around the world every day, but at the same time I am also aware we have got good props here.
“Marcus Street has played numerous U20s games and he is the guy who is coming through as one of England’s brightest prospects and he played well in some Premiership games for us.
“It wasn’t that long ago we scored a push over penalty try with Marcus Street scrummaging against Beno Obano who has just been called up to the England squad, that was only a few weeks ago, so I am very carefully judging it right with the props we have got here.
“Alfie Petch has played England U20s and he is in our academy training group.
“Whoever we recruit has got to be better than those guys, but we have to look to the next two or three years and make sure he is not blocking off a player who could become an even better player.
“This tighthead position, the one thing I am going to make sure is we don’t risk signing the wrong player. One hundred percent I am going to make sure they are the right player.”
And Baxter said sometimes the right player, isn’t always the biggest names in the game. They can be journeymen who suddenly find the right home.
He said: “There is a great deal of satisfaction of seeing someone come in from another club who maybe hasn’t quite been so successful, maybe battling away over a number of years, and then comes in and adds such good qualities to your team, and is such a good person, and ends up winning trophies.
“The perfect example is someone like Kai Horstmann who spent time at Harlequins and a lot of time at Worcester.
“The majority of the time he was at Worcester he was battling relegation, by the time he left Exeter he had won the Premiership.
“He contributed so much in the changing room and bringing through young players. You talk to some of our young players and he taught them valuable lessons which allowed them to go on to win Premiership titles as well, that brings a lot of satisfaction.”