The list of famous Devonians, from Scott of the Antarctic and Sir Walter Raleigh to Agatha Christie and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, is an eclectic one. Until now heroic athletes – apart from sailors and Argyle footballers – have been in shorter supply. Not since the Tavistock-born Sir Francis Drake played bowls on Plymouth Hoe before defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588 have there been many more evocative local sporting yarns than Exeter Chiefs’ buccaneering ride to Twickenham.
It is seven years this week that Exeter made it out of the Championship to the Premiership; there remains a decent Hollywood movie in their ascent from the old tumbledown County Ground to the top of the domestic game. One more push and for the first time in the history of England’s leading professional team sports – whether it be cricket’s county championship, Premier League football or elite rugby – a team from the south-west peninsula will be national champions.
Making this the best of western weekends – with Exeter City and Cornwall playing at Wembley and Twickenham respectively on Sunday – will not be straightforward. Wasps have a fizzing abundance of champagne talent behind the scrum and Twickenham in mid-afternoon will be almost hot enough to toast marshmallows. The Chiefs, though, are entirely unfazed by the forecast warmth. “We’ll deal with the weather fine,” said Rob Baxter’s dryly. “Twenty-six or 27 degrees is nothing unusual here. Most of the boys, especially the Cornish, are a little concerned about the potential temperature drop-off.”
Many a true word spoken in jest. The Chiefs are fitter than anyone, partly courtesy of pre-season sessions on Exmouth beach under ex-Marine training instructors. They also think smarter than most. The assistant coach Ali Hepher has been studying baseball and cricket to help his squad find an extra edge; just as certain pitchers fare better against certain batters, so Exeter take similar factors into account when selecting their pack. For all Baxter’s huge influence and farmer’s emphasis on hard work and sound planning, his lieutenants are also unusually sharp.
It was evident as far back as 2010, for those who cared to notice. In the play-off final, the plan was to lure an unsuspecting Bristol into believing a 9-6 first-leg deficit would be easily overhauled at the Memorial Ground. Exeter had an alternative script worked out having noted, among other things, that Bristol’s hooker regularly threw the ball in from inside the touchline. The referee was quietly advised, the home lineout froze, the penalty count soared and the tactically-cute Chiefs romped to a 29-10 away win.
Is that remotely relevant now? Survivors from those early days, such as fly-half and captain Gareth Steenson who scored all but five of his side’s points on that momentous evening, reckon it might be: “Speaking to a couple of others who were involved, the feeling we had after the first leg was very similar to how we felt after last weekend’s semi-final against Saracens. Now we just want to make sure we finish the job off. The last thing you want to do is go there and not do yourself justice.”
Steenson, still going strong alongside fellow “originals’ Phil Dollman and Ben Moon, epitomises the work-hard, play-hard Chiefs ethos. Forced to leave his native Ulster to escape the shadow of David Humphreys, his roundabout career path via Rotherham and Cornish Pirates meant he did not make his Premiership debut until the age of 26. People who focus only on the accuracy of his kicking and the fully stocked bar (complete with Guinness on tap) in his garage are missing the relentless competitiveness that galvanises those around him. “I’ve played with a lot of 10s and without any doubt Steeno’s one of the best at driving home what a team wants,” says Geoff Parling, who shared a dressing-room with Jonny Wilkinson for several years. “He’s sort of ingrained in how we play. Fly-halves have to be mentally strong and really boss the show. That’s what he does.”
The experienced Parling, due to leave Sandy Park this summer to play in Japan and Australia, also singles out a key difference between the Chiefs of 2017 and the side beaten 28-20 by Saracens in the 2016 final having trailed 23-6 at half-time: “The thing I noticed when I joined was that we still needed a bit of belief. I honestly think that’s the main reason a team wins or loses.” The mindset is very different now, much to Parling’s satisfaction. “If we get to a final and lose it will feel awful. Did we have that a year ago? Probably not. I got frustrated afterwards. The fans were happy because it had been a good season but I went home a bit miserable because we hadn’t won anything. This time we’re going there to win.”
The former England and Lions lock, a title winner with Leicester in 2010, is now on the verge of joining the rare bunch who have won Premiership titles with more than one club. He may come from the north-east while Don Armand, Kai Horstmann, Dave Dennis, Mitch Lees and Thomas Waldrom hail from the southern hemisphere but when Exeter’s maul is inching towards the opposing try-line the cohesion is formidable. If Wasps, minus the injured Kurtley Beale, are to win they will first have to stop the Chiefs’ pack from driving them to distraction.
Wasps have their own danger men but it is Exeter’s collective energy that sets them apart. Last year, the Chiefs’ were unnerved by the remarkable reception they received at Twickenham, with spectators banging on the sides of the bus to reinforce their unconditional love. This time they will try to ignore the loftiness of the occasion and, if possible, all the west country support. “That’s not what I want the players focusing on,” said Baxter. “I genuinely want them focusing on themselves – what they want to achieve as individuals and as a team. If their hard work, dedication and desire merits them coming away with something they can talk about as a group for the rest of their lives, that’s what’s important.”
If it also shreds a few old apple-cheeked Devonian stereotypes along the way, so much the better. Since when does romance win trophies? Just as farming is not all dancing cows and fragrant hay, so rugby is not a game for distracted dreamers. The fabulous Baxter boys still have a tough 80 minutes before them. But if the cream does rise to the top – and the Chiefs could end up winning by more than one score – the sense of pride out west will last indefinitely.
