Vermeulen set for Premiership bow
By Mike Smith
17/10/19
He's only been at the club for a month, however, South African powerhouse Jacques Vermeulen has sure made an impression here in Devon.
Two tries in three Premiership Rugby Cup appearances have certainly set the tone for the the 6ft 5in, 17 stone forward, who is now is looking forward to kicking off his Gallagher Premiership career when Harlequins are the visitors to Sandy Park this Saturday (3pm).
A try-scoring debut in the defeat at Leicester Tigers signalled his arrival, before he found his way over the whitewash a week later as Rob Baxter's side returned to winning ways with victory on the road against Worcester Warriors. Last Saturday, the former Sharks star was afforded his first taste of competitive action at Sandy Park, starting as the Chiefs warmed up for the new league season by defeating Bristol Bears 42-19.
That success not only made it three wins in four games for the Chiefs, but ensured the Devonians of a home semi-final - against Harlequins - when the Cup resumes in early February.
"It was a good performance by the boys, we're stoked because of the result," said Vermeulen. "We worked hard for it. After the Leicester game we sat down and we said we need to knuckle down and put in two big performances to get into the Cup semi-final, so I think the guys are pretty happy about it. All the boys knew that the semi-final was up for grabs, so everyone put in lots of hard work in the week and really knuckled down. In the end, we got the result and as a squad, we're really happy about it."
Indeed, it's provided the Chiefs with the perfect platform from which to launch their league season - and Vermeulen says he cannot wait to get stuck into domestic life with the Chiefs, who last season narrowly missed out in the end of season showpiece to Saracens at Twickenham.
"It was very important to get the result, but we must now put that to the back of our minds as it's Premiership time and we need to focus on that. For sure it given us confidence going into the first round, but all of our focus must now be on the Premiership."
The Chiefs kick-off the new Premiership season against a Harlequins outfit, who last season pushed hard for a place in the top four under new head coach Paul Gustard. For large parts of the campaign they were firmly in the hunt, only for their play-off dream to be shattered on the final day when they lost to Wasps.
Although Vermeulen has never faced the Londoners before, he has been duly warned of the threat they pose during this week's pre-game preparations.
"I think that everyone is excited, I can see through training the past month, everyone just wants to get out on that pitch," he added. "This Saturday is going to be a big one for the team, everyone is raring to go and it's going to be a big one for the team. Harlequins are a very good side, you can see that, but we will do our best to handle them and play at our best.
"It's really important to get the win and it's obviously very exciting to kick-off the season here at Sandy Park. To have your home crowd behind you in the first round is great and I think it'll be a great occasion for the team."