England bolter’s Test chances assessed after ‘complete’ PREM performance as ‘informal chat’ revealed
Exeter Chiefs winger Paul Brown-Bampoe (right) is heading in the right direction for an England call-up, says Rob Baxter (left)
Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter believes winger Paul Brown-Bampoe is heading in the right direction for a first senior England call-up, following his latest blockbuster performance against Newcastle Red Bulls.
The explosive back, who scored two tries in Exeter’s 38-14 win at Kingston Park on Friday night, previously featured in the wider England A squad earlier this month, but is yet to be drafted into Steve Borthwick’s senior squad at the time of writing.
Brown-Bampoe has enjoyed a strong start to his professional career after signing for the Devonians from Durham University, scoring 29 tries in 41 appearances in all competitions.
‘Paul is heading in that direction’
While he has certainly made a good impact in his short time at the professional level, his display on Friday night was arguably one of his strongest all-round displays for Exeter.
Alongside his two tries and tally of 10 carries for 28 metres, he also notched nine tackles across the 80 minutes – including a certain try-saving effort in the first-half – while also impressing in the aerial game to get Chiefs on the front-foot.
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That display has since received a glowing assessment from Exeter DoR Baxter, who feels like it could be the way for him to finally make a serious push to make the senior England squad.
“You have to say Paul was very good last week,” he told members of the media.
“He just had one of those games. He was in the right place at the right time for his tries, but then competed under the high ball fantastically well, kicked-chased and completed tackles fantastically well and looked a physical presence in defence and attack.
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“It was one of those performances you could call a complete performance,” Baxter continued. “That’s certainly the way you build a career and potentially start to get international recognition, when you start to be good on both sides of the ball.
“There aren’t many players in international rugby just because they’re an attacker or just because they’re a defender. You have to start building those complete games, and Paul is heading in that direction.
‘There’s continual contact in place’
While Brown-Bampoe is yet to feature in a senior training squad, he has been in the England conversation for the best part of a year now. His name was thrown into the mix for the summer tour of the Americas last year, and he was also selected in a 26-man England A training squad in February. However, he did not make the 23-man match-day squad for the Test v Ireland XV.
That said, though, his selection in the initial squad suggests he is in Borthwick’s mind with regard to a possible call-up, and Baxter revealed Brown-Bampoe is subject of ‘continual contact’ with the England coaching staff.
“We had a couple of the England coaches here yesterday, watching training and catching up with a few of the lads,” he said.
“I know they had an informal chat with Browny as part of that, so there’s continual contact in place.”
Wing is a hotly contested spot within the England set-up right now, with the likes of Tommy Freeman, Henry Arundell, Cadan Murley and Tom Roebuck all featuring in Tests during the Six Nations, while Brown-Bampoe’s clubmate Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is also firmly in contention for a place in the Test squad as well, despite missing the Championship through a hamstring injury.
