Centurion Harvey Skinner out to join elite club

By Paul Rees

Ever since Harvey Skinner made his debut for Exeter eight years ago, players from the club have been capped in every position – except his own.

The 26-year-old outside-half is determined to rectify that having been close to making the England A squad last season with two matches scheduled this campaign against Australia and Ireland.

International Ambitions

“I would like to play international rugby,” said Skinner, who started every match for Exeter in the Premiership and the Champions Cup last season.

“That means playing well for my club and being part of a successful team.

“If you finish around the top two, it means the outside-half is doing something right. When you play a match in which your opposite number is involved with England it gives you the chance to put down a marker and say that you are there so keep a lookout.

On England’s Radar

“You have to get talked about and make it hard for them not to pick you. I know I was on England A’s radar earlier this year and that is my target this season. If you get into that environment, it gives you the chance to showcase what you can do and flourish.”

Owen Farrell’s departure to Racing 92 means there is one option at 10 gone for England head coach Steve Borthwick who still has George Ford, Marcus Smith and Fin Smith to decide between while Gloucester’s outside-half Charlie Atkinson started for the A side against Portugal back in February.

“I think I played well in patches last season, but your form needs to be consistently good,” said Skinner.

“It helps if you are in a team that is going well as Northampton showed last season. They won the Premiership and six of their backs were capped by England.”

Enjoying the ride

Skinner reached the 100 appearance milestone for Exeter against Leicester in the opening round of the Premiership. Having started out behind Gareth Steenson and Joe Simmonds, he is now the Chiefs’ chief tactician.

“It has been a good ride,” he said. “I learned a lot from watching Gareth and Joe, who moulded the team to the way they wanted to run games. Having Henry Slade outside me has been huge and it has allowed me to put my stamp on things.

“I was in the squad when we won the Premiership in 2017 and did the double three years later. They are really good memories, but I want to achieve that as a regular player in the side.

“We had good moments last season – winning in Toulon immediately springs to mind because not many teams achieve that. We want to win the title with what is still a largely new group of players and after what went before, that would be some achievement by the coaches.”

Exeter were not expected to feature among the play-off contenders last season after losing a cluster of experienced internationals in the close season, but they were in contention until defeat at Leicester in the final round.

Building on last season

“There was a lot of chat last season about us not doing well and that provided fuel for us to show what we were all about,” said Skinner.

“We went into pre-season determined not to lose that hunger and it is very much still there. A year down the line, we are more experienced.

“I have seen the club evolve to what it is now and I am grateful to have made 100 appearances. I can still remember the feeling when I made my debut and you learn so much along the way, such as blocking out everything and getting in the zone.

“The coaches here give opportunities to players who are in form. We did well last season, but we have the talent to compete even more.”