mens
Gallagher-Prime Minister
Exeter Chiefs Boss Rob Baxter admits he would like to keep Josh Iosefa-Scott at Sandy Park next season but accepts there is little they can do when French clubs come, even those in Pro D2.
Iosefa-Scott, 30, was a key actress Bosses reached the Gallagher PREM final last season, and scored a try in their opening weekend defeat to Gloucester, but next season will play for Pro D2 the hopes of the promotion of Provence.
The England The international, who stands 6ft 4in, has been nominated for May’s Gallagher Player of the Month award and could make his 100th appearance if he plays against Bath this weekend.
Baxter believes it would have been easier for him to turn down a move across the Channel if Iosefa-Scott was in or around the England squad, but he knows it won’t be the last time his club comes under attack for a player.
“I think if the circumstances had been a little different for Josh, and I say a little different, he might have been at the top of England by a place or two, and if he honestly felt he was either on the fringes of the team or just in the team.
“You could know there’s an EPS deal, either now or maybe next year. It changes things dramatically for the players.
“But I think when he looks, and says, ‘well, I was in England A setup, I might not make my breakthrough, now I have to start looking after my long term career, and where will that be long term for me, at my age, to maximize my income?
“I don’t think they’re necessarily negative for the English game because as much as we don’t want to lose Josh, it makes us look for another solid EQP.
“I could do things differently within our team to try to manipulate the money from here to there, whatever. But these are just the battles you go through. The more good players we have, the more successful seasons we have.
“This happens. We’ve had it in the past and it will happen again in the future. We’ve had to work very hard to keep some of our better players, especially as they’ve dropped out of contention for England. It’s part of the game’s natural recycling,” Baxter said.
