5 things behind Exeter’s remarkable rise to the top
The success story is one of the finest to unfold in English rugby history.
Exeter will contest their first European final on Saturday when they meet French club Racing 92 in a Heineken Champions Cup showdown at Ashton Gate.
It continues the Chiefs’ remarkable journey that saw them attain Premiership status just 10 years ago.
Here, the PA news agency assesses some of the reasons for their success.
Rob Baxter
Culture
Tony Rowe
Loyalty
Professional sport can sometimes see loyalty go out of the window, but not in Exeter’s case. It is underlined perhaps no better than by 36-year-old Gareth Steenson, who kicked 24 points in Chiefs’ promotion-clinching victory over Bristol in 2010, and almost 300 appearances later is set to be part of the match-day 23 on Champions Cup final day in his final season at Sandy Park. The Exeter squad is littered with long-serving performers, one-club men who are the heartbeat of everything that has been achieved during a relentles drive to the top.
Growing your own
Exeter’s reputation for producing rugby talent is emphasised by their academy production line. Current England internationals Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie are among those to emerge via the Chiefs’ development system, and it has not stopped there, with players like the Simmonds brothers – first team captain Joe and England back-row forward Sam – Jack Maunder and Stu Townsend continuing the trend, while the most recent academy group to gain first XV graduation features Marcus Street, Sam Maunder and Richard Capstick. Star recruits such as Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray have proved significant arrivals, but those kind of signings are underpinned by the club’s unshakeable playing foundation.
