Following the announcement last week that the Rugby World Cup is set to come to Exeter's very own Sandy Park in 2015, combined with a thrilling end to the Season which saw the Chiefs notching up their 12th league win of the campaign to ensure them of a crucial top six finish, Exeter Rugby Club are on an all-time high. In 2015, when over 4.5 million viewers from across the globe will be watching the relative minnows in the list of Rugby World Cup venues, exactly what does this mean for the Chiefs and for the city? The Exeter Daily spoke to the key people that made it happen.
Richard Baxter will say an emotional farewell to life at Exeter Rugby Club when he runs out for his final game in a Chiefs jersey in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership clash with Gloucester at Sandy Park (2pm).
The long-serving No 8, who is poised to make his 431st outing for the Devon club, has decided to call time on his senior career and switch his attentions to life away from the game which has served him so well for so many years.
Since making his first team debut away to Fylde on October 11, 1997 – Baxter has established himself as one of the true greats of the club,...
Exeter Chiefs flanker James Scaysbrook says the lure of playing in next season's Heineken Cup is all the motivation he and his team-mates need to finish the current campaign on a high note. With just one game remaining in the scheduled fixture list - that against Gloucester at a sold out Sandy Park next Saturday (2.30pm) - the Devon club know a victory over the Cherry & Whites will ensure they will be competing alongside Europe's elite again next term. The Chiefs head into the final round of fixtures in sixth place, two points clear of rivals Bath, who themselves still harbour Heineken...
London Irish fly-half Ian Humphreys may have ended up on the losing side following his side's recent visit to Sandy Park, but he has emerged as a real winner in the eyes of one young rugby fan. The 30-year-old back was greeted with a chorus of boos from supporters packed inside Sandy Park when he inadvertently kicked the ball straight into the face of schoolboy James Allan, who was watching his first-ever Chiefs game with his dad Nick and other members of his family. Immediately Humphreys gestured towards the youngster for his actions and even tried to find him following the final whistle...
Hooker Neil Clark says Exeter Chiefs will forever hold a special place in his heart after it was confirmed this week he will leave the Aviva Premiership club at the end of the season. The 31-year-old forward, who has just agreed a two-year deal with newly-promoted French side Oyonnax, will bring the curtain down on his career with the Devon club following Exeter’s final game of the season against Gloucester at Sandy Park on May 4. In two spells with the Chiefs, Clark – who was this season awarded a testimonial year by the club – has to date amassed 187 appearances in all competitions,...
Exeter Chiefs can confirm that the club's final Aviva Premiership game of the 2012/13 season has now officially sold out.
The final few tickets for the game, which will be held on Saturday 4 May (2.30pm) were snapped up by supporters just after 10am at Sandy Park.
Rob Baxter's side, who defeated London Wasps 37-24 at Adams Park on Sunday, will head into the final day knowing victory over the visiting Cherry & Whites will guarantee them a spot in next season's Heineken Cup.
Bath, who are also battling it out for the final Cup placing alongside the Chiefs, face a...
Rob Baxter knows the rewards of another hard year in the Aviva Premiership are within his side's grasp as his Exeter Chiefs squad prepare to travel to London Wasps in their penultimate game of the season on Sunday (2pm).
Four wins in their last five top flight fixtures have helped propel the Chiefs into the all-important top six as the battle for qualification in next season's Heineken Cup reaches boiling point.
Entering into this weekend's fixtures, the Chiefs hold a slender advantage over both Bath (2 points) and Wasps (3 points) for the final European spot - and Baxter...
Having been given his first taste of Aviva Premiership action at the weekend, Exeter Chiefs youngster Henry Slade says he is keen to sample more over the remaining few weeks of the season. The talented fly-half was handed his top flight debut when he came off the bench during the second half of Exeter's 27-6 home win over London Irish. It was indeed a special moment for the 20-year-old, who with his first Premiership touch came within a whisker of marking his big day with a first-ever try. Sadly, it was not to be for Slade as referee Martin Fox adjudged his charge for the line had been...
Exeter Chiefs can confirm today that fly-half Myles Dorrian will be leaving the club at the end of the season to join up with Aviva Premiership rivals London Irish on a two-year deal. Dorrian, 30, who signed in the summer of 2011 from Championship side Bedford Blues, has featured nine times for the Chiefs, scoring three tries in the process. A naturally gifted footballer, the Sydney-born back is predominantly a No.10, but has featured for Exeter also in the centre and at full-back. Although first team opportunities were limited for Dorrian in the Premiership, he was able to figure in both...
Off-field politics were duly put to one side and it was the rugby that was on the lips of everyone as they departed Sandy Park late on Saturday evening. Pre-match there had been plenty of debate as to the rights and wrongs of Exeter Chiefs staging a minute’s silence in memory of the late Baroness Thatcher. As it turned out, the mark of respect went off without a hitch and it was the display of Rob Baxter’s side in sinking visiting London Irish that was making the real headlines. The Chiefs kept alive their hopes of competing in next season’s Heineken Cup by producing a fourth Aviva...
