Fisilau looking to learn after Sarries defeat

By Mark Stevens
2/1/23

It was mixed emotions for Exeter’s Greg Fisilau following the final whistle of Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership clash with Saracens at the StoneX Stadium.

A 35-3 humbling for the Chiefs was hardly the way the 19-year-old want to celebrate his first-ever start in the top-flight, but in a disappointing day for the Devonians, the highly-rated back-row forward was a rare shining light.

Packing down in the No.8 jersey, Fisilau showed no sign of nerves in the heat of the Premiership, happily going head-to-head with the home side’s star-studded pack of forwards, which included England stars such as Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Nick Isiekwe and the Vunipola brothers, Mako and Billy.

Not only did he top the tackle charts with 28, but his work around the field also saw him 19 rucks and six carries.

Head coach Ali Hepher admitted post-game it was a ‘tough day at the office’ for his side, but he praised the contribution of Fisilau, saying: “Look, what we did won’t make or break our season, but it’s how we respond to this result. We’ve got a big period of games coming up, four of the next five are at home, so we need to make the most of that.

“Right now, we’re clearly on a rebuild. We’ve lost players, we’ve haven’t been able to retain players because of the salary cap and we’re not the same team we were at that stage. Therefore, we need to reboot and regenerate guys. We’re are below what we were, but equally we are on the move back to that spot.

“It will take a little while, it’s not going to happen overnight, just because of the people who have moved on and who are going. That said, it’s exciting to rebuild again. We’ve had results like this before, but we came back stronger and that’s what I expect us to do.”

Players at the heart of that rebuild will be the likes of Fisilau, who joined the club midway through this season following Wasps bowing out of the Premiership due to financial issues.

“It was my first start, a big occasion for me, but the result wasn’t what we wanted,” he said. “As a group, we have to learn from it and look to fly into next week [against Northampton]. Coming to Saracens is never easy, but I thought the boys did well for a lot of the game. We just lost that control near the end and that’s what hurt us.”