Townsend ready to leave the dark days behind him
STU Townsend says he’s ready to put the ‘dark times’ behind him and help ignite a new charge with the Exeter Chiefs this season.
In what has so far been a miserable campaign to date for the Devon club, they have lost all six of their Gallagher Premiership fixtures, Townsend believes there is now light at the end of the tunnel and that fortunes will soon turn after some deep soul-searching within the club.
Last weekend’s 68-7 success over the Cornish Pirates in the opening round of the Premiership Rugby Cup was the first step in the right direction – and now it will be a case of kicking on in the coming weeks.
Townsend, right, has featured off the bench in the last two fixtures [against Harlequins and Pirates] and his experience will be invaluable for Rob Baxter‘s youthful squad moving forward.
The 29-year-old has been forced to sit out most of the current campaign with an undisclosed medical issue, but now fighting fit the scrum-half is hoping to play his part in helping the Chiefs rediscover their form at the top level.
“It’s been tough, especially with the results we’ve been having,” he said. “Personally, it’s probably the darkest time I’ve had since being at Exeter. It’s been harder for me because I haven’t been able to play and stuff, so it’s tough watching knowing you can’t help in any way.
“That said, the boys have remained in good spirits. We know we’ve not been a million miles off things. You only have to look at the games against Leicester and Bristol, we could have won either of them, but because we didn’t that’s just maybe mounted the pressure on us a bit more. “What we’ve spoken about recently is just having a fresh restart, put everything behind us and go into this new competition with fresh minds and look to play some rugby.”
Whatever was said,it clearly had the desired effect as the Chiefs proved too strong for the Pirates in a try-fest at the Mennaye Field.
Now, Townsend aims to kick on and re-establish himself back within the Chiefs starting line-up.
“There have been dark days,” he admitted. “When you’re not playing, it does get to you at times. It’s your job to play rugby and when you can’t do that, it’s tough.
‘There’s not much else you can do than try and get back. For me, personally, it wasn’t that I wasn’t ready, it was just medically I couldn’t and that was probably the most frustrating thing. It’s not like when you have a ligament or a muscle injury, you kind of know where you are with that. Unfortunately with my condition, I just didn’t have an end goal, so that was the toughest period. Recently, I got some great news and now I’m back, so it’s all good.”
Townsend’s timely return will provide a boost to the Chiefs, who after the Premiership Rugby Cup face a daunting lead up to Christmas with clashes against Bath (away), Sharks (away), Toulouse (home) and Sale (away).
“We’ve got some great youngsters at the club, they’re bloody good,” added Townsend. “As one of the older guys it’s about helping them grow, but at the same picking the right moment to help them. You don’t have to speak all the time because the young guys are good rugby players.
“You don’t have to tell them what to do, it’s more about lending that bit of experience or taking the pressure off them a bit. Someone like Yenz (Jack Yeandle) is great at that. He’s been there for years and knows what to say at the right time. Hopefully, I can do my bit at the same time.”
