Exeter Chiefs suffer late blow as key international ruled out of Gloucester clash

Ross Vintcent in action for Exeter in 2024.
Exeter Chiefs have confirmed Italian international Ross Vintcent has pulled out of their Premiership clash with Gloucester this afternoon.
The versatile back-rower, who can play six, seven and eight, has been a pivotal cog in the Chiefs pack this year, and is a huge omission as they look to secure their first league win of the season.
Ross Vintcent out of Gloucester clash
Per a statement issued on the club’s social media channels, Vintcent will be replaced in the squad by England A man Rusi Tuima, who will don the number 19 jersey. Argentina lock Franco Molina will move into Vintcent’s vacant number 20 jersey as a result.
Whilst this is a major blow to the Chiefs, it doesn’t affect their starting back-row to face Gloucester. England international Ethan Roots starts in the number six jersey, Exeter hero Jacques Vermeulen will don the seven shirt and England A man Greg Fisilau is at eight.
The 22-year-old South African native has made 10 appearances for the Chiefs this season, starting seven times and scoring one try in the process. His form has also seen him become a key member of the Italian pack too, and he started in the Azzurri’s Autumn Nations Series games against Georgia and the All Blacks.
At the time of writing, it is currently unknown why he has pulled out of the squad.
Rob Baxter hopeful of first win of the season
Exeter come into this West Country derby off the back of eight-straight league defeats, and have lost 10 of their 13 games in all competitions this season.
Despite this, they did beat the same opposition, at the same ground, in the Premiership Cup, and Baxter is hoping for a change in fortunes this week.
“I look at this group, look at how they train and their attitude towards wanting to get on with things and I’ve got confidence before every game,” Baxter said. “I’ve felt that before every game we’ve played this season, I’ve never once gone into a game thinking ‘this is it, there’s no chance of us winning’.
“We are only a performance away from feeling very different about our season. Will it be this week? I certainly hope so. Will we put things in place to try to help it happen this week? We certainly will.
“We’ll see the game play out and then we’ll know afterwards what the next things are that we have to move forward with and how we keep feeling positive.
On the flip side, Gloucester come into the clash in good touch, and will be keen to make it four wins on the spin in all competitions.