Street's day to remember
By Mark Stevens
14/2/18
Whilst many at Sandy Park will want to put last Saturday’s game against Worcester Warriors to the back of their minds, that won’t be the case for young Exeter Chiefs forward Marcus Street.
The 20-year-old prop will forever remember the day he made his Aviva Premiership debut, coming off the bench during the second half to replace Australian international Greg Holmes.
It was the latest achievement in Street’s fledging senior career, but underlined the faith the Chiefs coaching team have in the talented tight-head, who is being tipped as another star of the future from the club’s hugely successful academy system.
Just a week after helping England Under-20s to kick-off their Six Nations title defence with victory against Italy, Street found himself part and parcel of the Chiefs squad for the visit of the Warriors to Devon.
On a disappointing day for Rob Baxter’s defending champions, who went down 6-5 in the Round 14 encounter, Street could at least soften his own woes with the fact that he was now a fully fledged top flight player.
He admitted after the final whistle that it was a case of ‘mixed feelings’ given the end result, but he was still able to enjoy the occasion for what it was.
“It wasn’t the result we wanted, but it was a great experience for me personally, especially sharing it with all the other lads,” said Street. “The changing room is a bit low at the moment, but we’ve got to get over this quickly and come back in next week, brush it all to the side and prepare for a big game against Wasps.”
Having previously featured for the Chiefs in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Exeter Braves in the Aviva A League, Street admitted he had to pinch himself when he found out he would be included in the squad for the Worcester clash.
“I didn’t believe it at first,” he added. “It’s one of those moments where I had to keep looking at the team sheet. To be involved was a great experience for me and I’m very grateful to a lot of people for getting me to this stage. People like Rob Gibson, Robin Cowling, my family, they’ve all played a big part in my development so far.
“Experiencing what it’s like to play in the Premiership, I know I definitely want more of it and hopefully I will get another chance in the future.”