Salvi boost for the Chiefs

By Mark Stevens
4/2/17

Julian Salvi says it’s “great to be back” after he was named in the Exeter Chiefs starting line-up for Sunday’s Anglo-Welsh Cup trip to Bristol (3pm).

The Aussie flanker has been sidelined since October after injuring his bicep in the narrow European Champions Cup loss away to Ulster.

Months down the line and with the injury now fully healed, the 31-year-old forward is keen to make up for lost time and help the Devon club seal their place in the last four of this season’s competition.

“It’s great to be back,” said Salvi. “It’s the first time in my career I’ve had a serious injury like this, so it was kind of a weird place for me to be in for a while. That said, I had 12 good weeks to recover, get myself fit, and now I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Salvi will pack down in a Chiefs side that is brimming with confidence, particularly in the wake of last week’s 52-5 thumping off Wasps at Sandy Park. That victory lifted the team back to the top of Pool 2 on points difference from the Ospreys, but they know nothing less than a win will be suffice against their near rivals this weekend.

“Last week’s result was very positive for us, but now it’s about keeping the momentum going,” added the former Leicester Tigers star. “One of the core values of being here at Exeter is making sure you stay in the fight right until the end of every game and every competition you play. We’ve put ourselves in a great position, but we know we have to now go out and put in a performance we can be proud of.”

As one of the more senior stars set to take to the field for the visitors at Ashton Gate, Salvi admits the quality of youth coming through at Exeter is there for all to see and he says it is a privilege to line up alongside such talent.

“We’ve got a good mixture amongst the guys,” he continued. “You only have to look at guys like Sam Simmonds, he’s been fantastic every time he’s been given an opportunity and there are others alongside him as well. At the same time, we also have one or two older guys, myself included, who can add that little bit of experience to the side as well, which is great.

“As I said, we know we have to go up there on Sunday, put in a performance and win the game. We won’t worry too much about bonus points at this stage, the first aim has to be that we turn up in a good frame of mind and do what we do best.”

With games coming thick and fast for the Chiefs, Salvi aims to use this weekend’s run-out as a chance to remind head coach Rob Baxter of his quality, particularly with a crunch clash against Wasps looming large on the horizon.

He added: “With the Six Nations on, it’s an important window for us. We’ve got Bristol this weekend, then a big game against Wasps the following week, so for all of us it’s vital we put in a decent performance that we can then use as a start point for the following week.”