Exeter fought back to beat Bath and seal a place in next weekend’s Champions Cup quarter-finals in a Sandy Park thriller.
Bath led 15-7 until the 55th minute when Greg Fisilau brought the Chiefs back to within a point, and Ethan Roots crashed over for the winner.
New Italy cap Ross Vintcent, scored the first try for Exeter as his dream season continues. It’s not the conventional route that most professional players take, but Vintcent’s rugby journey has literally taken off this season.
At just 21, Vintcent is already something of a seasoned traveller, having been based out of South Africa, Dubai, Italy and now deepest Devon.
His rise to prominence has certainly been remarkable, but he is one of an ever-growing number of gems unearthed by Rob Baxter at Sandy Park.
Combining training and playing with studying for a degree in Business Economics, it’s all go for Vintcent, who even now is still on the books of the local Dominos as a pizza delivery driver.
“There will definitely be few deliveries for the next month or so,” he laughs. “It’s a tough term of modules to get on top of, but I don’t want to hand in my resignation just yet!”
University life aside, it’s equally busy for Vintcent during the day as well, as the Chiefs ready themselves for an exciting finale to the campaign at home and in Europe.
Vintcent was one of five Chiefs recently involved in the Six Nations, helping Italy to victories over Scotland and Wales, as well as a draw against France in Lille.
It is little wonder that he describes the past few months as a ‘whirlwind’.
“It’s been mad, a bit of a whirlwind,” he says. “I was actually booked to go to Cape Town for the first time in three years – I hadn’t been back to see my family or friends – but then the week before I was supposed to go, I got a message from the Italian team manager (Giovanni Battista) saying check your email, ‘Congratulations’.
“For half an hour I was checking my email and nothing came through. Then, eventually it was there, that’s when I told my family. They know it’s been a dream of mine to play at the highest level, so they were pretty understanding.”
The flights have been put on hold for Vintcent, above, but not so his career which only took off last season when he made his debut in the Premiership Cup.
In such a short space of time, Vintcent has impressed many, most notably Chiefs boss Baxter as well as Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada.
“On the Sunday I came back from Italy camp, I felt I was on a bit of a come down,” he said. “It was like I was waking up from some sort of dream. I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Indeed, Vintcent has already bagged a heap of rugby memories in such a short space of time.
“After the French game, I still felt quite positive. Even though it was a draw, it felt a bit like a loss. Then, at the end of the Scotland game, that was my favourite feeling of all. Just seeing the Stadio Olimpico erupt for the first time in years and boys dropping to their knees – it just made it so special.
“I mean, some of those guys like Seb Negri, he had not won a Six Nations game in 54 caps, so what it meant to him and how long they’ve been trying to get a win, you can’t really comprehend the history behind it all.”
Now, Vintcent wants to continue the ride with Exeter in the Premiership and Champions Cup.
“Manny [Feyi-Waboso] summed it perfectly after the Bristol game when he said we’re just a bunch of young boys running around the field enjoying ourselves,” added Vintcent. “I think that’s been the theme of the season.
“We’ve been written off from the start but that’s the best sort of place to come from and do something special.”
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