Will Chudley has the way to break into England’s top No.9s
Chudley, who represented England against the Barbarians last June, is understood to have caught the eye of new Red Rose boss Eddie Jones with an outstanding display during last month’s stunning victory over French giants Clermont Auvergne.
The former Loughborough Students, Bedford and Newcastle man followed up with a try-double against Sale last week and Pellow believes the 27-year-old is ready to challenge England regulars Ben Youngs, Richard Wigglesworth and Danny Care.
Pellow told The Rugby Paper: “Will’s matured over the last two or three years and the way he’s playing has been outstanding. He adds real tempo to our game with a lot of energy and the ability to open up defences with individual breaks.
“We’ve worked hard on his transition from Championship rugby to playing in the Premiership and then dealing with the pressure of Europe, so if he was asked to step up to international level with England I’m sure he’d cope with it.
“With the way he’s playing I can’t see why they wouldn’t be looking at him, so what he’s got to do is keep putting in those big performances.”
For his part, Chudley has started all 18 Premiership matches for Exeter since September 19, 2014 and has been the heartbeat of the league’s deadliest attack, with the Sandy Park outfit notching an impressive 27 tries in their first seven games.
A former colleague of Scotland and Glasgow star Henry Pyrgos at Loughborough, Chudley is equally keen for some top Test match recognition.
He told TRP: “Henry’s done really well for himself and when you look at what he’s achieved with Scotland it gives you a lot of encouragement.
“It was brilliant to get the call-up against the Barbarians last summer. We’ve seen our England boys like Jack Nowell and Henry Slade playing Test rugby and it’s awesome for them, but at the same time it makes you want to put on that shirt.
“There are a lot of good nines in our league that have played a lot of Premiership and international games, but it obviously helps that the Chiefs are doing well and that we’re at the right end of the league. It puts us all in the shop window.
“Any Premiership player will always have that ambition of playing for England. You watch the Six Nations or World Cup and the dream is to be there, but all I can do is play well, hopefully keep the Chiefs ticking over and you never know.”
Exeter, still second despite Friday’s defeat to Saints, look set for an assault on the Premiership title, with Chudley adding: “We’re in a good place at the moment, mentally and physically, and we’re playing some good rugby.
“Since I’ve been at Chiefs it’s always been about tempo and getting the ball away, trying to exhaust teams and break them down that way.
“That suits my game and I’m enjoying my rugby, so it’s good to keep testing yourself against the best.”
NEALE HARVEY
