Baxter praises impact of Waldrom

By Nick Warren

Four Exeter Chiefs players have spent this week training with England as they prepare for the autumn internationals.

After Jack Nowell was named in a 33-man squad last Wednesday, Henry Slade, Dave Ewers and Thomas Waldrom were called up as training cover on Sunday evening.

The recognition was richly deserved for all of them, with a lot of attention falling on Exeter academy prospects Nowell, Slade and Ewers.

But Waldrom (pictured), who won five caps during his four-year stint with Leicester Tigers, has proved to be a great addition to the Chiefs squad this term.

The 31-year-old, nicknamed 'Thomas the Tank', made the switch on a three-year deal in the summer and has started seven of Exeter’s eight matches to date, being rested for the trip to Bayonne.

While some pundits have been surprised by the impact Waldrom has made at Sandy Park, Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter said he was always confident the New Zealand-born No. 8 would shine in Devon.

“When we looked at our recruitment and the way the squad was going, we knew we were a relatively young squad,” said Baxter. “If you feel those players are going to come through and be successful and play a decent amount of rugby for you, what a squad does need is a balance of experience in important positions.

“Tom’s a vastly experienced No. 8, which is a key decision-making position in the game and becoming more key with some of the changes that are happening around the scrum.

“He was always going to add to our experience and we were very comfortable, having studied plenty of tapes of him, that there was plenty left in the tank.

“I think what’s surprised some people is how rejuvenated and energetic he seems, but we never had any doubts about that because we knew how well he could play. He did his medical and his fitness test with us and we had no issues over his fitness ability.

“He’s done exactly what we wanted him to do. We always knew he would have a high amount of involvement with us because of the way we play and that he would fit into that.

“He’s a very good footballer and that works for us as well because our forwards tend to get plenty of ball through their hands.

“I’m delighted for him that England are looking at him again, but I think it’s deserved and is on form and that’s the important thing – he’s up there with the best of them at the moment.”

England head coach Stuart Lancaster is due to announce on Sunday evening which players will return to train next week ahead of their opening Test against New Zealand on November 8.

While Nowell can realistically expect to be included after starting all of England’s matches in the Six Nations last term, the fate of Waldrom, Slade (pictured left) and Ewers may depend on other players’ injuries. The trio were called up due to doubts over Billy Vunipola, Luther Burrell and James Haskell, respectively.

Whether or not they are retained in the party, Baxter knows the best thing the Chiefs can do to put their players in position to win international honours is to be competing in the higher reaches of the table.

And Baxter thinks the fact they have a core of young English players in the squad will help drive them in the near future.

He said: “Last year us dropping away to eighth didn’t help in keeping the boys right up there in front of the England management’s eyes. Being in third now is better and what we’ve got to do is fight to stay at the right end of the league.

“As a club we’ve got a lot of young English-qualified players and them driving the club forward and on to more success in whatever competition we’re playing in is what’s very important for them to get recognition as a group.

“That’s something I find really exciting. We could have a group of young players who get together and say their own destiny is in their own hands as individuals and as a club and they’ve got to be the people who drive it forward and get success on the pitch.”