Armand's chance will come
By Mark Stevens
28/10/17
Rob Baxter believes Exeter Chiefs star Don Armand is more than capable of forcing his way into the future thinking of England head coach Eddie Jones moving forward.
The all-action back-row - who has been in sparkling form this season - was being tipped by many pundits around the game to be part of England’s squad named for the upcoming Autumn internationals.
However, the Australian coach this week opted not to call-up Armand, who was part of England’s summer tour to Argentina, winning his maiden Test cap in the First Test against the Pumas.
Instead, club-mates Harry Williams, Sam Simmonds and Henry Slade were all included in the 34-man squad, who will fly out to Portugal tomorrow for a training camp, after which they will then gear up for successive clashes against Argentina (Nov 11), Australia (Nov 18) and Samoa (Nov 25).
Whilst delighted to see Academy product Simmonds get his first call-up, Baxter admitted he was somewhat disappointed not to see Armand follow suit.
“Both players have been playing well and both have had significant inputs into what we have achieved so far this season,” said Baxter following his side’s 10-6 win at Sale Sharks in the Aviva Premiership on Friday night.
“I think in the case of Don, he’s an ever-improving player and I do hope that Eddie and England do keep their eye on him and actually see that he is improving and he is moving forward. I don’t believe Don is someone they have actually had a look at and now think his pathway is closed. I believe his pathway is wide open and it’s up to him to go out and take it.
“Knowing Don and how he trains, how we prepares, and how we plays games, I don’t think he needs to push his game on that much more for that to become a reality.”
But whilst Armand misses out, Baxter is confident Simmonds - who has scored five tries already this season - can make his mark at the next level.
“With Sam, I think he’s an interesting player for Eddie because he does offer something different,” continued Baxter. “The truth is, he has electric-like winger pace and if he breaks free, he can cause a lot of problems for the opposition.
“Whatever way you look at it, I think whenever you put squads together, you do want guys with points of difference and you do want guys who can potentially change things up and offer something different. Therefore, I can completely under his involvement and I can see him doing well. At the same time, though, I don’t think the door is shut for Don.
“At this stage, Don may not be what Eddie and England want in terms of the balance to their back-row, but that doesn’t mean before the end of the Autumn internationals or the Six Nations comes around, he doesn’t become a perfect guy for them.”
