Thomas “the Tank Engine” Waldrom shows no sign of running out of steam in a season when he will reach the age of 34. The England No8, the leading tryscorer in last season’s Champions Cup, is closing in on a half-century in the Premiership, in sight of Neil Back’s record 59 for a forward.
Since joining Exeter in 2014 from Leicester, Waldrom has become the most prolific tryscorer in England. He has topped the Premiership table in the past two seasons, with 16 and 13, and his tally of four this campaign is bettered only by Saracens’ Jamie George.
When the Top 14 leaders, Clermont Auvergne, arrive at Sandy Park on Sunday evening, they will be only too aware of the threat posed by Waldrom who scored two tries in the Champions Cup group match between the sides in Exeter last December. He helped the Chiefs secure a winning bonus point, a feat they have achieved in their last seven home matches in Europe, the first four in the Challenge Cup.
“One of the best decisions I have ever made was to join Exeter,” he says. “That is no disrespect to Leicester, but I knew where the club here was heading and wanted to be a part of it. I have another season to go on my contract and then I will see where we are going.”
Waldrom has maintained his scoring exploits this season despite a change in the maul law. It has helped hookers, including Exeter’s Luke Cowan-Dickie, who scored a hat-trick against Harlequins last month, but Waldrom remains one of the hardest players in the Premiership to stop when he nears the line. “The new maul law has changed my role a bit because the ball is now passed back, but what has not altered is that you still have to get the ball over the line,” he says.
“We have played well in patches this season, but there is a lot more to come from us. It is important to make a good start in the Champions Cup and you have to enjoy matches in the tournament.”
Waldrom has scored 46 tries in 128 Premiership appearances, 25 as a replacement. That is a notable return for a forward, but his 33 league tries for the Chiefs have come in 50 matches, four from the bench, and overall he has touched down 40 times for Exeter in 59 outings. There is no prospect, though, of him adding to his four England caps, having been overlooked by Eddie Jones.
“You have to perform well for your club first otherwise you are not going to get in the mix,” he says. “Eddie has talked to me and he has other options. You never want to rule it out, but he has a direction he wants to go in. It is quite nice being able to concentrate on Exeter and do what I can to get us as far as possible in the Premiership and Europe.”
The Chiefs are in the form group of the five with Clermont and Ulster, next Saturday’s opponents in Belfast, both topping their leagues while the fourth team, Bordeaux-Bègles, are in the play-off positions in the Top 14. Exeter, fifth in the Premiership, have been the slowest starters this season with two victories in their six matches.
“Having made last season’s Premiership final, we cannot pitch ourselves as underdogs any more,” says Waldrom. “We have made significant progress in the last few seasons and we are a good team. We have let ourselves down in a couple of games, not reacting quickly enough when there have been momentum shifts, but we are not a million miles away. We have to concentrate on what we do well, starting with Clermont.
“We played them and Bordeaux-Bègles in last season’s Champions Cup and having them again is good in one sense because you know how they play. The lesson we need to take from a year ago is that we need to do better on the road. We got one point from our three away games and that very nearly cost us a place in the quarter-finals.
“The first two matches will be massive for us with Clermont and Ulster both making strong starts to the season. You want to measure yourself against the best around. That is the whole point of the Champions Cup and the key to winning our pool will be picking up points on the road.”
