Things building nicely for White
By Mark Stevens
24/8/17
Exeter Chiefs newcomer Nic White insists things are building nicely ahead of the upcoming season for the defending Aviva Premiership champions.
Recruited in the summer from French Top 14 outfit Montpellier, the Australian international has settled well to life in Devon and is hoping to play a key role for Rob Baxter’s side in not only their title defence, but also their assault for European honours.
White pulled on a Chiefs jersey for the first time in competitive action last weekend, helping his new club to overcome the Dragons 50-24 in a pre-season friendly at Sandy Park.
On Friday night, the 27-year-old scrum-half will start again for the Chiefs, this time in their final pre-season fixture away to Cardiff Blues (7:15pm).
Reflecting on life with the Chiefs so far, White said: “It’s been really good and it was great to get out there at the weekend and play some rugby after working so hard in pre-season. The atmosphere was awesome, even though it was a friendly, and it was great to finally hear the Tomahawk Chop!”
As one of six new faces brought to the club by Baxter this summer, White has had to quickly get up to speed with the mechanics of the Chiefs. However, initial signs seem to indicate it hasn’t been a problem for the Scone-born back, who started his senior career back home in Australia with the Brumbies.
“As I said, we’ve worked hard in pre-season, but getting out there and getting that game intensity is key,” he added. “You can only do so much in training, so it’s good to see what works out on the pitch. For me personally, I just want to get out there, play some footy, and learn as much as I can about the structure and how we play here at the club.”
Already, White says he can see clearly what makes the Chiefs click so successfully, highlighting first hand the work ethic that exists within the whole club.
“You can see a lot of what we do revolves around hard work,” said White. “It’s engrained into everyone here at the club. I’d like to think it’s something I enjoy as well, so I’m just hoping to get as much time in the saddle as possible and see where we go from there.
“Right now we’re all working incredibly hard because the new season is just around the corner. Everything is building up nicely. The intensity you can see is going up each week and no doubt it will continue to do that as the season progresses.”
With Gloucester first up in the Premiership on Friday week (Sept 1), the Chiefs will be hoping to use the Cardiff clash as the final dress rehearsal for what they hope will be another big year in English rugby’s top flight.
As well as defending their Premiership title, however, the Chiefs have made no secret of their desire to put on a show in Europe, where they will face Leinster, Glasgow Warriors and White’s former employers, Montpellier.
The Aussie admits it’s an exciting pool to be involved with, adding: “It’s a tough pool with some very good teams in it. As players, though, we’re excited for the challenge because there are some good teams in there with a lot of rich history in the competition.
“And because the competition is short and sharp, every game is important and every point is important. Teams are always nervous at the start, which is what it’s like for Test matches, and they try and feel each other out, but it’s up to us to go out there and really make our mark.”
Before Europe embarks, White and the Chiefs will be looking to make a powerful start to the new Premiership season which, according to Exeter’s new-boy, is much different to how it’s perceived back in his native Australia.
“Down South there is a perception that the Premiership is very much set-piece based, but having watched a lot of it in recent times you can see the league is really evolving. Watching the way teams attack and how they play, it’s a lot like Super Rugby, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it.”