Exeter Chiefs lock Jannes Kirsten has penned a contract extension with the club following a successful injury cover period at the Devon side.
Robert Rees brings you the latest from Sandy Park.
Jannes Kirsten signs extension
Rob Baxter has rewarded the fine form of South African import Jannes Kirsten with a new contract extension at Gallagher Premiership leaders, Exeter Chiefs.
Brought in last summer as injury dispensation for summer signings Tom Price and Will Witty, the 26-year-old former Bulls forward has certainly delivered on all fronts since arriving in Devon.
Kirsten’s hard-hitting, no-nonsense approach, together with his fantastic work ethic, have not only won him many admirers within the game, but has also seen him establish himself as an integral cog in the Exeter engine room.
With three tries in 22 games already, even Baxter admits Kirsten’s form has probably exceeded his own expectations.
“Obviously, Jannes has had a great season so far,” said the Chiefs’ Director of Rugby. “When we talk to players about coming in and they ask me about what they think we as a club can do for them as a player, I always tell them that we will create an environment here which, if they are prepared to work hard enough, they will thrive in.
“In Jannes’ case, that’s exactly what he has been willing to do. From the moment he turned up from South Africa, he’s just go on with things and done everything we have asked of him. He’s played a lot of rugby and dropped into things very quickly, but that’s down to him and wanting to learn and get involved as soon as he could.
“Initially he showed all the things we knew he had in his game, like his physicality in his carrying and his tackling and that he was a good set-piece forward, but what he has also been able to show over the period of time he has been at the club is develop other parts of his game without losing that input he is having in games.”
Alongside compatriot Jacques Vermeulen, the two South Africans have been very much at the heart of a lot of Exeter’s success this season, helping the Chiefs not only lead the Premiership, but to also book their place in the last eight of the Heineken Champions Cup.
“What you’ve seen this season with both Jannes and Jacques coming in is two guys who have got stuck in from the outset and who have helped to re-establish some new challenges in and around the back five of our scrum. It’s fantastic the energy and the enthusiasm that they bring, but they are also helping to keep standards moving upwards.
“Any successful squad has to have good depth to it, but it also needs to be competitive in all areas as well. I’m more than comfortable that guys come in and shake things up within a group. That’s what they have done and in turn it has helped to bring the best out in others as well.
“I have no doubt we will see Jannes and Jacques improve even more over this next 12 months, so it will be nice to see how far that development can really go.”
“Main photo credit”
