Exeter Chiefs' pre-season wing sensation Paul Brown-Bampoe pushing for his Premiership debut

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Exeter Chiefs are preparing to unleash another prolific try-scoring wing with box-office potential on the Gallagher Premiership.

Paul Brown-Bampoe could be involved in some capacity against opening Premiership opponents Leicester Leicester at Sandy Park on Saturday, director of rugby Rob Baxter has confirmed. The dust is still settling on Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s startling emergence at Exeter from fledgling club player through to England international in less than six months. The 21-year-old wing only began featuring in Exeter colours early last season – and by the end of it he was scoring tries for England against New Zealand and is now a contender to tour with the British and Irish Lions in the summer.

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And the Chiefs feel they might have found another special talent in 22-year-old Brown-Bampoe, who has yet to make a competitive appearance since arriving in Devon from Durham University midway through last season, however he was involved in three of Exeter’s pre-season games – against Cornish Pirates, Ospreys and Ulster – and scored five tries, while he claimed 30 touchdowns for Durham.

“I watch a lot of university games, and a couple of our coaches were saying to me last season that this guy stands out as a real finisher,” Baxter said.

“I had a good look at him last season, and we brought him in early. He was with us from Christmas and he played some games at Plymouth, which was great and meant he kept playing. Our coaches worked really closely with him on some of the elements around kicking and positional play, all the bits and pieces he probably still has to learn.

“He is quick, big and strong. He is determined and professional in his diligence – he wants to learn. He has got all the raw ingredients to be a very good player. It’s just for us to coach him really well and try to accelerate the process of allowing him to feel very comfortable in those high-level environments where he will be tested tactically and technically, as well as physically.”

Brown-Bampoe has featured for England Students and England Sevens, and Baxter says it is “very likely” that he will find himself in and around Premiership selection plans.

Baxter added: “We’ve either got to get him into the (matchday) 23 or get him out playing somewhere. That’s what he really needs to do, and probably spend a lot of time training here.

“We have got to try and get the balance right for him, but right here and now he is very likely to be in and around our 23 for a Premiership game because of the way he has performed in pre-season. That is how we have always tried to run things here.

“If a young player or a new player comes in and merits being there, regardless of whether we’ve got some concerns on whether they are quite ready for it or whether they’ve quite got all the experience they need, we tend to put them in because that is how you gain experience.

“We take the pain, and we take the gain. That’s what we have done with young players in the past, and that’s likely to be how we start working with Paul.”