Pellow's joy at Academy display

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs skills coach Ricky Pellow was full of praise for the club's Academy side as they recorded a notable 24-0 win over National League Two South side Redruth.

A first half penalty from fly-half Laurence May was all that separated the two sides at the break, but it was the young Chiefs who pulled clear in the second periods courtesy of tries from Sireli Naqelevuki, Tom Holdsworth and May, who also added a conversion alongside another from Adam Worth.

Ahead of kick-off all eyes were on Fijian international Naqelevuki, who was making his maiden appearance in Exeter's back-row. Head coach Rob Baxter is using pre-season to look at how the imposing 33-year-old could adapt to life in the forwards, rather than his previous role in the back division.

Certainly Naqelevuki underlined his credentials with a solid display, which included his try, but Pellow was also encouraged by the Islander's leadership skills and work-rate around the park.

"It was great to see Sireli out there and doing what we know he can do," said Pellow. "He got his try, he had one or two line breaks and he was pretty good at slowing down their ball and work around the breakdown. Obviously it will take him a bit of time to get used to playing in the back-row, but for a first run-out I thought he did well.

"Just seeing Sireli playing is not only a boost to us as coaches and a team, but I know the supporters will love seeing him out there and running at opponents. Also, it was great for so many of our younger guys to play alongside him tonight because not only can they learn off him, but they can live off the energy he brings to the team."

Naqelevuki aside, Pellow hailed the performance of the Chiefs, who were made up of players from Truro, Ivybridge and Bicton Colleges, as well as Exeter University and the club's senior academy structure.

"To come down to Redruth and put in a performance like that was outstanding, " added Pellow. "To nil them was very pleasing for the guys and the effort we put in I thought was terrific. I look at guys like Ed Holmes, who has come in tonight and led the line-out, carried well, worked hard and put in a man of the match performance.

"There were a number of others too who stood up and showed what they can do against a side who are playing in the National Leagues. The endeavour and physicality the whole group showed was fantastic and it sets up nicely to go in to next Tuesday's game with Exmouth.

"Having had just a few training sessions together I thought some of the play we showed was terrific and it's given us as coaches plenty to think about. Having this Outreach Group this year - involving all the centres and the guys from the University - is a great tool for us as not only does it allow us to have a close look at all these players in a game environment, but it allows us to see if they can potentially step up to that next level."