Exeter Chiefs forward Rus Tuima.

Handed his chance to shine by Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, the 24-year-old did just that, producing a number of eye-catching performance for the Devonians.

Switched from his more accustomed ball-carrying role in the back-row, Tuima has added to that facet of his game with a new and dynamic approach in the heart of the Exeter engine room.

“One of my goals at the start of last season was just to be more of an established started in the first team,” he said. “With the way the season went, how the boys performed as a team, it just managed to helped boost me as a player and move me up the ladder

“Switching from the back-row into the second-row, it kind of came out of nowhere, but it’s helped transform me and my game. People mentioned it previously when I was like 18 or 19, but I kind of batted it away at that stage, I just wanted to play in the back-row. Then, Rob came to me at start of the season and said it was kind of what I needed if I wanted to play more.

“Things are a lot different to a few years ago, I’m older first and foremost, but I’ve got a son, I’ve got a family to think about and I need to start moving up the ladder, so I just thought ‘let’s do it’ and I haven’t looked back since.”

Tuima - a product of the Chiefs Academy - has taken to his new role with aplomb and indeed like many other youngsters at Sandy Park, he’s used the faith shown to him by Baxter to create the platform from which to build in the future.

“We’re a young side and not many people we’re expecting us to do much,” added Tuima. “A lot of boys had moved on from the previous year, so it was a case of we had to step up as a group. Pre-season was good in terms of setting the tone and by the time we got to the start of the Premiership, we were in a good position.

“We started the season with those good wins over Saracens and Sale and we just built from there. Every week we were like the kind of underdogs in games, so we used that kind of mentality to try and prove people wrong.”

Other significant scalps were taken by the Chiefs over the course of the season and it helped bring a number of the club’s highly-rated youngsters into the mindset of coaches at a higher level.

Ross Vintcent and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso would subsequently go on to represent Italy and England in the Six Nations, whilst Tuima himself came into the reckoning somewhat with his involvement for England A against Portugal back in February, before a call-up into Steve Borthwick’s training squad at the end of the campaign.

“I was super proud to have achieved what I did,” added Tuima, whose sister Lagi has herself represented the Red Roses on 15 occasions. “Playing for the A side, then getting into camp, it means I’ve got my foot in the door at least.

“I’ve always dreamed of being in and around that area, so to do it was super special. Now, I just want to push on further. Learning from different coaches, seeing the attention to detail that goes into everything, it’s shown me what I need to do if I want to succeed at that level.

“For me, this past season was the first kind of stepping stone to achieve that, now I’ve got to follow it up again next season. To do that, I know I have to work incredibly hard, but I know what I want and what will be needed.”

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