They know a little bit about vintage years in Bordeaux, where Exeter hope to savour a famous victory over La Rochelle on Sunday. This has not been the smoothest of seasons for the Chiefs but there is still time to transform perceptions. If few people are tipping England’s last men standing as probable Champions Cup finalists, that is exactly how they prefer it.
The more you examine the background to the fixture, in fact, the more intriguing it becomes. Does anyone remotely think Sam Simmonds, Jack Nowell, Stuart Hogg or any of the Chiefs’ other departing gladiators are not desperate for one last glint of silverware? Has everyone forgotten the 11 tries Exeter collectively stuck on Montpellier and Stormers to reach Sunday’s semi-final?
For all the “Last Dance” references, there are similar levels of motivation among those staying on. The Chiefs’ in-form winger Olly Woodburn is a good example. People talk a lot about Levani Botia and Will Skelton and La Rochelle’s other massive units but what if the contest plays out the way Woodburn and Exeter prefer: wider focused, aerially challenging and at pace? As a positive-minded Gloucester showed this month, the picture can swiftly become very different.
Woodburn is a keen photographer – he likes to do fashion shoots and would love to make a post-rugby career out of it – and the analogy suits the 31-year-old. Exeter’s recently crowned supporters’ player of the year also knows what it takes to pose with a major trophy, having been part of the Chiefs squad who stunned Toulouse and Racing 92 to become European champions in 2020.
This is why the super-fit, strong-attacking runner is adamant Exeter have a genuine chance against the defending champions. “I think we do really well under these kind of circumstances,” he says. “If you look at our history, when people write us off we turn back and give them a little counterpunch. We do well against French sides, we’re full of talent and we work hard. You underestimate us at your peril.”
Dig a little deeper and there is also much more to Woodburn, second only to Simmonds as a prolific try-scorer for the current Chiefs, than many will be aware. Before games, for example, he uses meditation and deep-breathing techniques – “It just gives me real clarity” – to put himself in the right mental space and is a similarly strong believer in the hidden power of visualisation.
To explain why, he tells a story about basketball players in the United States. “They did an experiment where they separated the team into three groups. One group practised free throws every day, one visualised doing that and the other group didn’t do anything. They found the group that visualised the free throws had the biggest improvement. I think rugby has a huge emphasis on the physical side but the mental side is still a bit behind. It will catch up but I’m trying to be at the forefront.”
Accordingly, Woodburn takes time out to imagine himself soaring through the air – “I like to practise my method and my process in my head” – to claim the high balls that are now his trademark. It seems to be working. By Woodburn’s own estimation, the only season when he has played as comparably well was in 2017 when Exeter won the Premiership for the first time.
Hence the reason it felt so cruel two weekends ago when this thoughtful match-winner was sucked into the Venus flytrap that is rugby’s current disciplinary framework. As he hurtled gallantly across to try and prevent Leicester’s Chris Ashton from scoring in the corner at Welford Road, he was doing what any self-respecting rugby player would have done. As Hogg had just tackled Ashton, however, and because a sliding Woodburn technically made contact with an already grounded player he received a second yellow card and a subsequent red.
Letter of the law or not, it caused an understandable furore. How is anyone now meant to stop a winger diving low for the line? While Nowell was subsequently fined £10,000 for expressing his disquiet on Twitter, he was only echoing the feelings of many within the game. Woodburn is not about to point fingers at individual referees but he does suggest rugby has an increasing problem. “I’m not going to talk about [the referee] Karl Dickson. I’ll just say I made that tackle based on instinct. I’m not going to change that. If someone is going to try and score in the corner I’m going to do everything I can to stop them legally.
“In my mind that tackle wasn’t reckless. I felt like I did the best I could. I haven’t heard anything from the RFU which would suggest I could coach myself to do anything differently. Players aren’t going out to hurt people but it’s very difficult to stay on the field at the moment. You do feel you’re in a bit of a box. You want to finish a game and talk about the rugby rather than one decision an official made.” He also believes, as a fan of the NFL and the NBA, that rugby should be looking to prioritise spectators more. “If a player makes too many fouls they get ejected but the teams and fans aren’t punished because of one freak incident.”
The future, though, can wait for now as Exeter seek to prove that rumours of their demise as major contenders have been exaggerated. From Woodburn’s perspective, that means starting fast and not easing up for a second: “On the big occasions it comes down to the little things that people don’t see. What you do off the ball, the extra kick-chase yards you make, the extra work you do in the tackle that slows the ball down. People think it’s the heroic finishes in the corner that win you games. It’s not. It’s the little actions that get you there.”
Woodburn also has two other personal spurs. The first is to reach another final for the sake of his two-year-old son, Solomon. “I feel like I have a deep motivation driving me,” he says. “I’d like to leave him a legacy he’ll be proud of.” The second is to strengthen his claim to be Nowell’s natural successor.
“Jack never trains, so when he leaves there’s going to be a spot next season for an experienced older winger who doesn’t train a lot,” Woodburn says. The cheerful Chiefs may be unfancied but they will come steaming out of the blocks. Don’t write them off just yet.
