Atkins keen to play his part

By Howard Lloyd

Ollie Atkins has vowed to make the most of any opportunities that come his way if he is drafted in to reinforce Exeter Chiefs' decimated second row.

The 27-year-old Australian impressed off the bench after going on 25 minutes into Exeter's 8-3 New Year's Day loss at Northampton Saints.

He replaced his compatriot Mitch Lees, who joined fellow lock Damian Welch on the injured list with a bicep injury.

Welch is set to be out for at least two months following surgery on a pectoral injury, meaning former Edinburgh forward Atkins could be in line for more game time in the coming weeks.

He said: "You never wish an injury on anyone but you just take your opportunity when you can. It was great to get out on the field against Saints. It probably was not how you wanted to have your first extended run but you take your minutes where you can. I'm just looking forward to trying to build on that for next week."

Atkins and his Chiefs team-mates will need to up their game if they are to avoid a repeat of their disappointing loss to Saints last week when they host Gloucester on Saturday (3pm).

Rob Baxter's side failed to fashion a single clear try-scoring opportunity and only made their mark on the scoreboard six minutes from time courtesy of Gareth Steenson's late penalty.

That gave Exe a potentially crucial losing bonus point, but it was scant consolation following such a poor team display.

"It does take you a while to get over a loss," admitted Atkins. "Nobody ever likes losing and we all play the game to win. We will try and put it away. It might take a few days but we will reset. We are big on the whole concept of resetting and getting ready for the next game and that is what we will do.

"We'll go back to the drawing board and review it and that is the beauty of rugby – you have the next game to look forward to."

"We just didn't fire any shots to be honest. They had the line speed, their defence was pretty rock-solid and we just didn't play the way we wanted to play," he continued.

"They probably hindered us in that respect so full credit to them, they played well and they deserved the win. To still come away with a losing point away at a tough place to play is something.

"Steeno knocking that one over was great and getting away with a losing bonus was great too – he kicked really well. We were pretty happy with that at the end."