Exclusive: Former Wasp Dan Frost buzzing in new life as an Exeter Chief

James While
Wasps Ahead of the Champions Cup quarter-final between Exeter Chiefs and the Stormers, Dan Frost spoke to Planet Rugby’s James While about his journey from Cornish Pirates to Sandy Park.

Ahead of the Champions Cup quarter-final between Exeter Chiefs and the Stormers, Dan Frost spoke to Planet Rugby’s James While about his journey from Cornish Pirates via Wasps to Sandy Park.

For Worcester Warriors and Wasps players, the 2022/23 season has been an emotional roller-coaster. Redundancies and uncertainties have moved into challenges and opportunities in an unsettling time in English rugby. 

Uncertain future

Exeter Chiefs hooker Dan Frost is one of those players. Signed by Wasps from the Cornish Pirates post-Covid during the 2021/22 season, he got his first real shot at Premiership level (after turning out for Bath once in 2016) in the black and gold, managing 25 appearances before redundancy took his future away from under his feet.

“When it happened, it was so hard to take in and comprehend,” Frost explained.

“We turned up on the Monday and were literally told, ‘that’s it boys’. The emotions were indescribable. I had been there only a year, but players like Joe Launchbury and others, they had devoted their careers to Wasps and the great legacy the club holds. 

“Our immediate reaction was that we wanted to celebrate our time together, it dawned on us this was the last week this group would be together, and I also wanted to honour the memories of this special club that had given me a chance. 

“I think it’s fair to say we were keen to make sure the social kitty didn’t fall into the hands of the official receivers, so we…. well, let’s just say we made the most of our time together!

“Looking back, of course, I’m gutted that happened. It was an exciting squad with young coaches, with a mantra of attack, playing heads up rugby. Sometimes we could be naïve, but we never left anything out there in terms of attacking ambition, and that’s something I’m really proud of.”

Opportunity knocks

He added: “What has been nice is to track my pals in their new clubs and to keep in contact – retain that Wasp identity of that special group. As an example, I had to chuckle against Montpellier as Elliott Stooke, a close mate at Wasps, started sledging me from the moment we were in the tunnel. 

“Stookey’s chat is even worse than his golf – or even what he has left of his haircut – so that underlines just how poor his sledging is! I don’t think he shut up all game, and given he was still giving to me large on the sidelines in extra time, that must prove he’s back to full fitness as I was bloody exhausted!

“But yeah, as much we all want each other to succeed, there’s always going to be that competitive edge against former teammates on the pitch, but then we have those wonderful, shared memories over a quiet beer together afterwards – a bond that we’ll always have, and something that defines that spirit of rugby and of course, the essence of Wasps.”

The move to the Chiefs seemed a perfect fit for Frost – a proud Somerset lad who spent a lot of time following both of his local clubs, Bath and Exeter, as a kid. 

Back to North Petherton

Born and bred in North Petherton, a town proud of its local club, Frost hasn’t forgotten his roots nor the connections he has locally.

“It’s a cliché, but the support I get from North Petherton RFC is fantastic. Alongside that, I have the sheer dedication of my mum, dad and brother in supporting my career, driving me to sessions before I could drive and so on. Those are the things you don’t forget and that make you into the player you are, and it means so much to me,” he said.

“Once Wasps ceased, I’d moved back to North Petherton, and literally within a week, Rob Baxter had been in contact with my agent checking my interest. Obviously, I knew a few of the Chiefs’ lads and had always been impressed by their set-up and the club close to me, so it really didn’t need a second thought!

Pastures new

“Moving into Exeter gave me a different sort of environment. The core of the team are all double champions – they’ve closed off at both Premiership and European levels. That experience is key when it comes to big matches – just having those reference points of pressure games and finding a way to win rubs off on those of us coming into the side.

“At Wasps, no fear was our approach, and we took pride in our unstructured philosophy, but at Chiefs, there is more in way of the structured playbook in our focus. By all means, make decisions, but you will be held accountable. 

“We have absolute clarity of our role and duty, which I enjoy, but the neat thing is I have both the Wasps and the Chiefs approaches in my DNA now. Learning when to be daring and when to stick to the structure is becoming clearer to me and that energy and attacking ambition is something I can bring in terms of my personal example on the pitch.

“I am also grateful that I’ve had a run of starts with Chiefs. At Wasps, I came off the bench 18 times in my 25 matches and was starting to get this tag as a bench specialist. I am told by the coaches that I bring energy when in that situation, but my goal is to prove that I can do that in the starting jersey too. I know modern rugby loves this ‘finishers’ tag, but any decent player wants to own that starting shirt. 

Taking chances

 “With Luke Cowan-Dickie out, I’ve had my chances and am enjoying it. Jack Yeandle, like me, a guy who went through the Championship into Premiership via Doncaster, has been a great help and still is one of our key leaders, despite the fact he’s the biggest joker in our squad and always ripping into us youngsters! But his experience (and Luke’s) are absolute goldmines of information for my development, and I love being around them. 

“They’re the guys that help everyone to develop, and of course, I’d love to emulate Luke in his international journey, but that will only come from club consistency and excellence, and that’s my focus.

“In short, Exeter is a great place to be, and I’m really happy.”

Stormers challenge

Looking ahead to Saturday, Frost’s next challenge is as big as he’s faced in his young career to date. A quarter-final against the Stormers and a complete Springbok front-row with two world champions propping it in Frans Malherbe and Steven Kitshoff.

“Look, these are the games you want. You need to play against the best, and Saturday is a massive challenge against two of the best props in the world – two performers (and several others behind them!) I have the utmost respect for. They are proud world champions for a good reason,” he added.

“You need to take the mentality of wanting to embrace and attack every scrum. Concentration is vital – one lapse and you’re toast against players of this calibre. We need to be aggressive, take it to them and not leave anything in the dressing room. It’s not in my nature to have regrets, and I don’t intend to be anything less than the best version of me, and that’s as much as I can do.

“We are off a six-day turnaround, but in fairness to the Stormers, they have a 14-hour overnight flight in their prep, which probably evens things out. The Montpellier game was absolutely shattering physically. Our S&C boys told us that both of the last two plays of the game had 23 phases, so this week has been about rest, recharge and reset, with a wider session on Wednesday. We are prepared and confident, with a good aggressive mindset.

“It’ll be a massive challenge. We are underdogs, but with the Exeter Chiefs faithful behind us, who knows what might happen?”

We thank Dan and Exeter Chiefs for their time.

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Champions Cup Dan Frost