Tommy Wyatt: “Injury made me aware that my body isn’t just a quad bike - I have to change my tyres now and again!”
After a serious knee injury stunted his progress at the Exeter, Tommy Wyatt is keen to make up for lost time
©Exeter Chiefs
On Tuesday evening, Exeter Chiefs released an injury update which confirmed the news that England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had dislocated his shoulder.
The 22-year-old is facing a spell on the sidelines and could be ruled out for the entirety of the Six Nations but from a Chiefs perspective, it is another player who is consigned to the treatment table.
Along with Feyi-Waboso, Olly Woodburn and Ehren Painter have both sustained ACL injuries while Josh Hodge’s recent hand injury is being monitored by the club.
With Exeter showing shoots of recovery over the last couple of weeks - following a dismal start to the campaign - the absence of important players is not ideal for Director of Rugby Rob Baxter who is preparing his side for Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup meeting with Bordeaux Bègles.
However, one name who is grateful to be available to Baxter again is Tommy Wyatt who has not long since recovered from a serious knee injury that he sustained almost a year ago.
Since returning to the field in Chiefs colours in November, he’s grateful to be playing rugby again and enjoying being back with his teammates.
“I’m enjoying it and it’s been good to get back out there - training and running about,” Wyatt begins. “The changing room banter is back, I missed out on that because I was in the gym. I’m really happy to be back.
“I think now the injury has made me more aware that my body isn’t just a quad bike. I have to change my tyres every now and again! I think that’s been a good thing to come out of it and I just want to keep pushing and keep my head down.”
Before rupturing his ACL knee ligament against Glasgow Warriors in the Champions Cup last January, Wyatt had become a regular in Baxter’s plans.
The 25-year-old had built on a strong end to the 2022/23 campaign by featuring consistently in the Gallagher Premiership before he sustained the first serious injury of his career.
But since returning to action in the Premiership Cup against his former side Cornish Pirates in November, Wyatt has racked up eight further appearances across three different competitions.
Included in this was a full 80 minutes against Gloucester just after Christmas, where Exeter recorded their first Premiership win of the season in front of a sold-out Sandy Park.
The Chiefs followed up their 22-15 success with an encouraging display in defeat away at fourth-placed Leicester Tigers but Wyatt admits it hasn’t been an easy period for him and the club.
“We’ve had some dark weeks as players,” Wyatt admits after Exeter had begun this term with eight successive Premiership defeats.
“Nobody wants to lose and to be honest, it’s not through fault of trying. The boys are working hard. When you get in those [losing] situations, confidence does become a bit of an issue.
“You sort of almost forget you’re a good side sometimes but during those times, you have to keep your head down and keep grafting and that’s what we’ve tried to do and are still trying to do.
“We’re building. The last couple of weeks building from the Gloucester game, we obviously went up to Leicester with a bit of a game plan and to be honest, I’ve been up there five times and I think that’s the closest I’ve ever come to beating Leicester. [Exeter lost 28-15 last Saturday].
"It was one of those games so that was disappointing but this weekend, we’re solely focused on winning.”
And Wyatt hopes Exeter can harness the emotions they experienced against Gloucester when they return to Sandy Park on Saturday.
“Sladey [Henry Slade] put it into words for us all. That’s actually a lie, don’t believe that!”, Wyatt laughs, referring to Slade describing Exeter’s win against Gloucester as ‘better than sex’.
“It was honestly amazing. Obviously a packed-out Sandy Park, you can’t beat it. I don’t think there’s many places you go travelling on the road that are as good as that with the atmosphere so amazing.”
The attention for Wyatt and the Chiefs now turns to Europe with Exeter welcoming Top 14 leaders Bordeaux Bègles to Devon.
The French outfit won both of their opening Champions Cup fixtures - at home to Leicester and away to Ulster - while Exeter are still searching for their first points of the competition after defeats to the Sharks and holders Toulouse respectively.
“They [Bordeaux] love to run,” adds Wyatt, who starts at full-back on Saturday. “They’ll have some dangerous backs in there. We’ll know the running threat side of it but also they’ll have the power up front.
“They have some big heavy forwards. We’ve done a bit of analysis and we know if we can move those big boys around, there will be holes that open up and it will probably be an open game, plenty of breaks”.
And Wyatt will be keen to be on the end of any breaks which fall Exeter’s way as he looks to make up for lost time with the Chiefs.
