Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he has been impressed with how young Wales back-row Kane James is maturing. The 21-year-old won his international first cap in July when Wales lost in Argentina in the Nations Championship. James broke into the Exeter squad last season and has started both of the Chiefs' Prem games so far this campaign.
"He's just following that really nice route where he's improving at a nice rate, he's having some good impact on games," Baxter said. "Kane can be really pleased with the trajectory his game is going in at the minute."
Baxter has also noted James' physical development. He says the former England Under-20 player, who switched allegiance to the country he grew up in earlier this year, has been working hard off the field. "He's getting thicker, that will happen with quality training, making sure he gets his nutrition and all this kind of stuff," Baxter added. "He's such a diligent guy he is going to maximise his strength and his growth, but he is going to get bigger for quite some time, I would say with Kane."
Having previously featured mainly as a number eight, James has started both of this season's Prem matches for Exeter at open-side flanker. Baxter says the move is about getting the best from the players available rather than changing James' role. "We've been a bit challenged in the back five of the scrum, so what we've been doing is selecting the best three to start the game," he explained. "I've never been a big one for this 'numbers on backs dictates what player you are'."
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing