Devon club’s Jonny Hill and Jonny Gray will pose a formidable challenge to Toulouse in their European semi-final
The best rugby players live for weekends like this. Playing for your country is a huge honour but a major European club semi-final, alongside your closest mates, can feel similarly emotional. As the big forwards of Exeter prepare to collide with the full force of Toulouse and the gladiators of Saracens strap on their breastplates to face Racing 92 in Paris, there is a bond of brotherhood and mutual recognition that, to quote Maximus, what we do in life echoes in eternity.
It is part of the reason, echoing stands or not, why a tantalising pair of Heineken Champions’ Cup semi-finals crackle with such anticipation. The defending champions, Saracens, will need more of the Asterix-style magic potion that swept them past Leinster last Saturday while the Chiefs seek to distil a decade of steady improvement into 80 minutes of pure nectar. If it ends up with both English clubs meeting in only the second all-Premiership final in the tournament’s 25-year history it will be an achievement for the ages.
Written by Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/sep/25/weve-waited-a-long-time-exeters-hill-and-gray-relish-toulouse-test-rugby-union under the title “
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