Iosefa-Scott Agrees New Chiefs Contract

Exeter Chiefs tighthead prop Josh Iosefa-Scott has agreed a new two-year contract with the club.

A colossal force in the Chiefs’ front row, the 145kg prop brings an immoveable quality to the Exeter scrum and defensive line. His confrontational playing style often helps to bring some grit to the Chiefs performance.

“It was a pretty easy decision for me to re-sign,” Iosefa-Scott said. “The environment is strong and the lads we have here are unbelievable. From this season we can grow, and I think we can achieve a lot of good things, so I want to be a part of that.”

Moving away from his native New Zealand for his first season with Chiefs in 2021, the move was a bold choice for Iosefa-Scott, but it has resulted in appearances in the top flight of northern hemisphere rugby – the Gallagher Premiership and the Investec Champions Cup.

The 28-year-old’s senior career kicked off with Waikato in 2016 and it was with the North Island based side that he won his first silverware, the Ranfurly Shield. His confident performances for Waikato were rewarded with a handful of Super Rugby appearances for the Highlanders franchise.

From the Highlanders to the Exeter Chiefs, the prop now has 67 appearances for the Devon club under his belt and is regularly in the selection debate against a crop of talented tighthead props.

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter believes Iosefa-Scott’s signing will be pivotal to the future success of the Chiefs pack.

“It’s great to be able to tie down the player who is beginning to come through as our number one tighthead. Josh has really grown in his time here and is having a particularly good season this year.

“He had to get over a relatively serious injury for a prop at the end of last season and was likely still feeling the effects of that at the start of this season but as the games have gone on, he’s developed momentum in the way he’s playing.

“He’s worked well with Ross McMillan and Rob Hunter on his set piece, which is starting to become a strength of his. We see him being a player that is going to grow and grow.

“He’s already had some involvement with the England A squad but the next step we foresee for him is to move forward to be one of the top tightheads in the Premiership. We’d like to try to help him fulfil his ambitions of international rugby, which we certainly see as being an achievable goal for him in the future.

“Hopefully we can move forward together to develop him and the team. We certainly feel he’s got a bright future here and that he could really become one of the cornerstones to helping our team achieve in the coming seasons.”