How will the Exeter Chiefs side adapt with missing stars on International duty?

Exeter Chiefs Sam Simmonds, Alec Hepburn, Harry Williams, Jack Nowell and Thomas Francis are all unavailable against Worcester on Saturday due to International duties.

Rob Baxter, Director Of Rugby at Exeter Chiefs, says his side are facing a pivotal month ahead in the Aviva Premiership.

The reigning champions head into tomorrow’s Round 14 battle against visiting Worcester Warriors at Sandy Park, looking to build on their five-point advantage over next-best Saracens at the top of the table.

However, five key players from the regular starting lineup are unavailable for selection. 

Having used the past fortnight in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, Baxter has seen fine replacements as Devon’s finest progressed into the last four of the competition for a fourth successive year. Baxter said:

"We have a number of players away on international duty and - like any squad - we’ve picked up the odd injury, so suddenly we’ve become a different group to say a month ago.

“What we’ve said to the guys this week is simple - you can allow those distractions to get in your way or you can really zone in and attack these next few weeks week. If you focus on yourselves and what you want to achieve, teams that can do that are the teams that can make real strides over this next month.

Certainly the strength in depth within the Chiefs squad has been a telling factor in recent seasons and Baxter is confident his current crop of stars, plus those he is planning to use in the future, can cope with the demands being asked of them.

“As I’ve said, though, I’m comfortable with where we are as a group. The bigger picture of what is going on here at Exeter Chiefs looks very comfortable to me. I like the look of the squad we have not just now, or for the next 12 months, but for the next two or three years. But on top of building that squad that can mean we are a good, solid Premiership team for a number of years, we’ve got to keep talking about how we drive through that top end quality. 

Full lineup against Worcester: 

15 Lachie Turner

14 Santiago Cordero

13 Ian Whitten

12 Sam Hill

11 Olly Woodburn

10 Gareth Steenson (capt)

9 Nic White

1 Ben Moon

2 Luke Cowan-Dickie

3 Greg Holmes

4 Mitch Lees

5 Jonny Hill

6 Dave Ewers

7 Don Armand

8 Thomas Waldrom

16 Shaun Malton

17 Moray Low

18 Marcus Street

19 Toby Salmon

20 Matt Kvesic

21 Will Chudley

22 Joe Simmonds

23 Ollie Devoto