Rob Baxter, the chief coach of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union club the Exeter Chiefs has stated that the omission of his team’s flanker Tom Johnson from the England national squad to face South Africa should be put down to the poor performance that the team has endured and not for any fault of the flanker. Johnson was among ten players who were released back to their respective clubs by the England national team boss Stuart Lancaster after the team’s defeat at the hands of Australia.
Baxter stated that he believes Tom has been very unlucky but one cannot help but accept it sometimes. He went on to add that sometimes, players do get dropped from the side on the back of a poor performance by the team instead of the player’s own performances. The Exeter Chiefs flanker had been an ever present figure in the lineup of the England national team since the summer team’s summer tour of South Africa and he even scored his first try for the country against Fiji just one month back.
However, the England boss Stuart Lancaster decided to take him off the field early on in the second half during last weekend’s match against Australia at Twickenham Stoop. Speaking to BBC South West Sport, The Chiefs boss stood by his player and stated that his player is in an extremely unfortunate position, when he had no hand in it.
He went on to add that he has been away on tour with the England team and most people in the country have been extremely pleased with the way he has performed. Baxter also added that just few weeks ago, people were looking at him as a sure shot for the British Lions but now, he is back with the Exeter Chiefs, which is good for the club.