Exeter Players for the SA Tour?

Rob Baxter, the man at the helm of the Exeter Chiefs has called on Stuart Lancaster to pick his players for the SA tour. Exeter are currently 5th in the AP and have put in many good performances this season, Baxter believes that this form warrants recognition at test level.

Which Exeter players have a realistic chance of making the 40 man touring party to SA?

Baxter and Whitehead certainly possibilities

Tom Johnson

I think if you take Exeters best 15 and highlight the English players there are none who jump out and scream pick me.

Brett Sturgess
Chris Whitehead
James Hanks
Tom Johnson
James Scaysbrooke
Richard Baxter
James Phillips
Haydn Thomas
Gareth Steenson
Matt Jess
Luke Arscott

From all of them i'd only seriously consider James Hanks , Tom Johnson and with the current lack of 7s James Scyasbrooke.

I can't see Lancaster wanting Chris Whitehead to come on the tour as his attitude judging by Twitter is that of a first class door nob.

DaveM
I agree, his was the first name that came into my head.

Baxter mentions: Luke Arscott, Matt Jess and haydyn thomas.

Anyone know much of these guys?

Haydn Thomas is a tidy 9 but is no better than Ben Youngs , Lee Dickson , Danny Care or Richard Wrigglesworth.

I believe Scaysbrook was the chiefs player of the season.. and back row places are available with the injuries announced recently. Can we rule out a left field selection fron Lancaster?

Shocker - Coach talks up his own players.

Actually pls don't take any of them, much obliged

You already know about TJ, Scays didn't make it at Bath so can't be up to scratch, Hanksy is injury prone, Haydn is chippier than the chippiest scrum half, Richie is just an old war-horse, Jessy is a greyhound but not big enough, Arscott is busy with Star Wars VII - so pls leave them all at home, all useless - thanks

Ha! ALAB100 the vultures are circling! We're coming in for your players.. you should be happy you'll have more to talk about in england squad threads...

Hayden Thomas could make the bench for the Baabaas game.

If the final were contested by Quins and Tigers then that would rule out Care and Youngs.
Dickson would start with Hayden on the bench.

Tom Johnston is the only other one that I would consider.

Johnston and Whitehead. We need flankers and hookers and both are consistent and reliable in all areas, I'd take the pair of them. The rest? Probably not. Arscott is a good fb but there's a lot of good fbs at the moment with Foden, Brown, Goode and Miller all in cracking form this season.

Most of the Exe players have been on a journey of redemption or improvement from National League 1, to become proven Premiership standard now. So, while they have more than a spark of desire about them, they're not all in the first flush of youth.

Haydn, Sturge, TJ and Scaysy are all around the 30 year old mark, Arscott, Whitehead, Jessy, and Hanks in their mid to late twenties, with Phillips the youngest contender (until the Academy boys come through). So, they may do as stop-gaps and may step up to International level, but not as building blocks for the future.

I'll back Jessy against any other winger in the Prem, but if it's a choice between him and Wade for England, it'll be Wade, suspect defence or no.

Looking at the gaps in the England squad, TJ and Scays have a decent chance in the back row, Sturge at LH would be a nice surprise if Corbi is injured, and Whitehead's play in the loose may suit SA ground. Arscott is up against stiff competition at full-back, but he offers the big "old-school" option and was second only to Brown in the running stats last season, plus sound defence and a big boot.

Phillips deserves a look, but he needs to oust Baxter at 8 (although he's a lock option too), to prove that he's a better "heavy unit" option to Morgan. If Baxter were 5 years younger, he'd be a contender. Sturge's back up at LH, 22 year old Ben Moon, is in a similar situation to Phillips, up against Marler and others.

I love Haydn to bits (he's my Exe player of the year), but there would have to be a serious loss of form amongst the younger scrum-halves for him to have a chance.

By a long way, the best choice would be Budgie at Fly-half.


It's discussions like these that shows a weakness in the England set-up. Saxons squads never played often enough to prove player's ability, and less so now with the demise of the Churchill Cup.

I'd like to see a resurrection of the Divisional Championship, perhaps in parallel with Prem play-offs (obviously excluding players from the top 4 teams) to act as a selection tool. 4 squads of, say, 30 would give 120 players a shop window, albeit in scratch sides, perhaps with a stipulation of, say, 5 U-20's in each squad, and maybe a requirement for representation from Championship, or lower, clubs. Divisions playing touring mid-week sides during AI's would also be attractive, but perhaps less practical.

Steenson is Irish Driver

geoff998rugby wrote:Steenson is Irish Driver

But also English-qualified thru residency, geoff