At 28, Harvey Skinner is putting his hand up for an England call

One of the compelling subplots of the stunning revival of Exeter Chiefs this season has been the form of Harvey Skinner.

The 28-year-old fly-half can hardly be described as one of the fresh faces of Rob Baxter’s overhaul following last season’s ninth-place finish in the Prem. He made his senior debut for the club 10 years ago but spent most of the decade lining up behind Gareth Steenson or Joe Simmonds.

Last season, when he finally got the opportunity for a run of starts at fly-half after loan spells at Plymouth Albion and Cornish Pirates, the club’s collapse in form cost him his place again, with Baxter turning to Henry Slade or Ben Coen at 10.

Yet during this campaign he has finally delivered on his potential – to the extent that Taunton-born Skinner has thrust himself into conversations about an England call-up. There have been dust-ups with Owen Farrell and commanding performances against Marcus Smith along the way.

Of the four fly-halves playing in this weekend’s Prem play-offs, Skinner may have the lowest profile, but his teak-tough mindset and game management have underpinned the Exeter reset.

While the competition for the England starting position has been dominated by Fin Smith, George Ford and Marcus Smith over the last two seasons, Baxter believes that Skinner can force himself into the equation.

“Harvey has played exceptionally well, and in some games incredibly well,” Baxter told Telegraph Sport. “He might laugh at me when I say this, but I think Harvey is one of those guys who thrives on almost being… I don’t want to say the word underdog… but I think he thrives on proving things to people. So I think he often plays his best games when he’s playing against Marcus Smith or a ‘named’ fly‑half,” said Baxter.

On that basis, he will not have the chance to prove himself against Bath’s play-maker Finn Russell at the Rec, with the Scot ruled out by a groin injury. But Baxter believes that the next stage of his development – if he is to become an England player – is to be able to turn it on more consistently, when he cannot draw inspiration from a sense of being the underdog.

“The big step up he’s got to be able to make is be able to drive that [level] on a more consistent basis, almost in any scenario, because scenarios are changing all the time – what happens when you drop into the England team and all of a sudden you’re expected to go to Scotland and win? Can you thrive in that? Once you start showing that, the process towards becoming an international player happens.”

The growth has been clear to his fellow playmakers.

Asked about the progress, Steenson says that Skinner has looked a more confident player this season. Exeter’s higher-tempo game suits him.

“He’s more comfortable going to the line, and he’s playing well,” said Steenson. “The guys around him, Len Ikitau and Henry [Slade] have obviously helped his game. I think the relationship he has with Stephen Varney has helped too. He is looking to play, knows how he wants to play the game and is dictating things very well.

“He’s a real emotional driver of the guys, and he likes to play aggressively, and I think the way that the Chiefs have wanted to play the game this season has really suited his style of rugby. He is abrasive and emotional in what he does and the speed, tempo and freedom with which they are playing really suits him. He is being a bit more clear in how he wants the team to be driven around the pitch. It has probably taken a bit of time for him to get that feeling around what he is trying to do and it is great to see. Hopefully he can put in another big performance this weekend in the play-offs.”

Baxter is relishing being involved again at the business end of the season.

Just a year ago, when Exeter lost to Gloucester 79-17 at Kingsholm and Tony Rowe, the club’s chairman, came into the changing room and read the riot act, he revealed that he wondered whether the “hard stop” that was implemented might include his own departure from the club.

“I’m very open to saying, I thought when I was called in after Gloucester game that it might be the end of my career at Exeter, and I could have understood why. We had just dropped so far down where our expectations and our standards should be and did we need a proper, proper hard stop?

“I went home that night, and I kind of said to myself, ‘Right Rob, you’ve led the team in pretty much every aspect, whether it’s defence, set-piece... and when you’ve done all those roles, how did you do it when you are in charge of those areas?’

“I said to myself that I was not going to pretend to be someone else. I went in the next day and said: ‘What’s happened has happened, we have all got to take responsibility for it. Now we move on. I’m going to tell you what to do. I know one way of doing it, and it has been successful before’. That was probably the ‘stop’ that we needed.

“I spoke very emotively about what hadn’t been good enough, what had to change, and even by the end of last season, I knew these guys were okay.”

A return to an “old-school” pre-season helped set the tone for this season. “I said: ‘We are going to run, we are going to get fit, we are going to go down to the beach, we are going to get tough and we are going to get back to Sandy Park. And do it all again.’ It transformed us as a side and as a group of men as well.”

When Exeter were in their pomp six years ago, Baxter’s boys were well represented in the England squad, which brings us back to Skinner. A Prem play-off against the defending English champions on Saturday is the platform to prove to England head coach, Steve Borthwick, that he deserves to be in contention.

“It is about unlocking your potential in the Prem,” he added. “Once you have unlocked it once with a great game, you’ve shown you can do it, so then it is about trying to unlock it every week.

“I think if Harvey drives us towards winning a Prem, plays a great semi‑final that helps us win a semi‑final, then he goes and helps us win a final, then you’re back in the picture pretty quickly, aren’t you?” adds Baxter, with a smile. “What puts you in front of things is winning Prems.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]