Joe Hawkins has been told to fight for his place at Exeter Chiefs amid speculation over a possible return to Welsh rugby.
The Wales international was left out of Chiefs’ 23-strong matchday squad for a third game in a row on Saturday.
Hawkins is out of contract at the end of the season and Wales head coach Warren Gatland has hinted at a possible return to a Welsh region for the former Osprey.
But Exeter head coach Rob Baxter insisted there is no “agenda” against the 22-year-old centre despite leaving him out for the Premiership trip to Bath.
“We’ve not got an agenda that we’re leaving him out because we’ve heard he’s moving on or that a Welsh region want to bring him back,” said Baxter.
“I haven’t been involved in any speculation. We’ve not had talks right now about a contract extension but we also haven’t said that we’re not going to.
“The only thing I’m looking for from everyone is to show that they deserve to be in the team, fight to get us moving forward.”
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