Match Preview

A good start to the season and some huge victories, now our attention turns to Sandy Park and the North vs South Clash 2023. Durham makes the long trip down, in what will be an incredible experience for them, but also for our boys who will have 4000 supporters backing them every minute of the way.

We come into this one with a new record unbeaten run of 11 consecutive victories in BUCS Super Rugby. Last week saw a test, as a 21-19 win over Swansea was hard-fought but well-deserved in the end. A brace from Seb Driscoll and a late score from Archie Owlett seemed to have secured the win. However, a last-minute try set up a kick for the hosts to draw the game. Fraser Jones was tasked with difficult conversion from the touchline. Despite the support behind him, he couldn’t add the crucial two points.

A BUCS Super League title and a second-place finish. These were tough boots to fill as Lucas Dorrell took over as captain from Ollie Leatherbarrow following his graduation. However, just 4 games into the season and already Dorrell and his team look to be showing some strong ambition.

With an unbeaten start, including a record victory over arch-rivals Loughborough, the young Australian is already proving his worth as captain. It perhaps isn’t his loud voice or motivational speeches that have warranted this praise but his attention to detail.

Knowing the quality he is blessed with throughout the squad, the boys can beat any team. Therefore, pre-match the flanker reminds them to “just focus on what we can control” and “keep it simple”. If the boys follow this, they know they have the ability to tackle and side.

In line with his captaincy style, he keeps things very chilled on matchday; “I take it pretty easy on a matchday, right up until the game”. Even in the changing room, he says he likes to “really try and soak it in with all the boys and just enjoy it”. However, the last and most important thing before heading out to warm up is to “grab a couple of sweets”. The perfect nutrition for an elite athlete.

The most recent of our now 11-game unbeaten run came against Swansea which was a “tough win that to be really grinded out” in what were horrible conditions for the boys to play in.

Heading into the week “it’s been a good week of training” with plenty worked on both sides of the ball.

“We’ve looked a lot at tightening up around our defensive principles. On attack, just fixing up little bits of inaccuracy and bringing the intensity when carrying the ball to the line”.

As Dorrell prepares to lead the boys out onto the hallowed turf of Sandy Park, he knows that in “games like varsity, the boys don’t need much firing up”, but with the crowd getting behind them it will give them that extra inch.

TEAM NEWS
With form being so strong at the moment, Gareth Elliot has made just 2 changes for his game in charge at Sandy Park. These both come in the front row as Jared Williams and Archie Owlett both return to the side in the place of Freeman and Gulley who drop to the bench. Elsewhere, the rest of the side remains the same.

With this being such a young squad, packed with freshers, for many of them, it will be their first experience playing at Sandy Park and in front of such a large crowd. However, with some experienced heads in the side as well, it is perfectly balanced for the big occasion.
On the bench, we see returns for Kian Gentry and Kofi Barton-Byfield. The latter returns from an eye injury at just the right time having scored 3 tries in 3 games at Sandy Park.

After all the build and the excitement, the day is nearly here. We can't wait to welcome you all to Sandy Park for what is bound to be a huge game.

If you are unable to make it to the ground, you can follow like on our Twitter page (@ExeterUniRFC) or watch the game live on YouTube (BUCSTV).