Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter has given an honest review of Campbell Ridl’s red card against Bath on Saturday, claiming that the promising young star did “everything wrong” while trying to collect the high ball.
The incident involved Bath sensation Henry Arundell being flipped upside down when jumping to collect the high ball. Ridl misjudged his jump, colliding with the England star, and was quickly issued a yellow card, which was soon upgraded to a 20-minute red.
Speaking to the press about the incident after the match, Baxter said: “Campbell’s got everything wrong.
“He just follows the ball too much. He doesn’t really try and assess where the space is getting to, when you should be taking off, and when the opposition is going to be taking off.
“Those things, now, you’ve got to have a sense for, and it’s difficult because you’ve got to have a feel for the space that’s close in front of you, while having a feel for where the ball is.”
Baxter, while always direct, understood that mistakes can be made, insisting that Ridl will learn from his sending off.
“He’s a young guy,” said the 54-year-old coach. “He’s made a mistake. No one’s going to punish him for doing that. He’ll just do what he does. We’ll just get him up on the field and do plenty of practice, and get on with things.
“It’s one of those things that is dangerous again, because you have to have an aerial competition, sometimes players are going to get it wrong, simple as that really.”
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A promising future for the young Chief
Exeter Chiefs attack coach Dave Walder recently gave credit to the young winger after his try-scoring display against Leicester Tigers in December.
Speaking about his performance in the Leicester match, Walder said: “He took to the game like a duck to water. Both sides of the ball he was really impressive.
“His positioning at times, he’s still a young lad, he doesn’t quite understand the flow of the game, but I think that’s getting better day by day in training. And genuinely, with Harvey [Skinner] in training putting the ball in behind him, making him realise where he needs to be and things like that, that helps.”
At just 20 years old, he’s clearly still got plenty to learn, but most of the signs so far point to what will be an impressive career. A versatile player, Ridl is also capable of playing in the centres.
“We’ve only played him on the wing, but I think as a young man, it’s easier to play wing and slide in later than just to play centre, and playing centre in the Premiership is fast. So I think when you want to move from that, then your job is a bit simpler.
“I think Sladey is outstanding in that 13 slot, and a great person to learn from. But I think I’d see him at the moment staying in the wing, and then over time, maybe transitioning in the next sort of six, eight months, as he becomes more comfortable around the group. He’s definitely got the skills to do it.”
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