What’s gone wrong at Exeter Chiefs this season?
The biggest issues Exeter have faced, listening to Baxter, seem to come down to mindset and failing to back up performances after everything has clicked into place….
Sam Simmonds a doubt for England’s summer tour of Australia with hip and groin injury
Sam Simmonds is a doubt for the rest of the season and could therefore miss England’s summer tour of Australia, with the England No 8 set to meet…
Line-out errors and try-line fumbles: Have Exeter Chiefs lost their ruthless edge?
Jacques Vermeulen made it 10-0 on the stroke of half-time but, either side of that, the visitors fought fiercely. John Hodnett, Jack O’Donoghue and Conor Murray were…
Line-out errors, try-line fumbles and trouble with new laws – have Exeter Chiefs lost their ruthless edge?
Jacques Vermeulen made it 10-0 on the stroke of half-time but, either side of that, the visitors fought fiercely. John Hodnett, Jack O’Donoghue and Conor Murray were…
Rob Baxter bemused by officiating as wasteful Exeter edge Munster in first leg
However, that was only the catalyst for Munster to find their flow. Shane Daly pirouetted inside from the left flank to score, with replacement scrum-half Craig Casey…
Rob Baxter opens door to England coach role and urges RFU to appoint from Premiership
Rob Baxter, the Exeter Chiefs director of rugby, has opened the door to becoming Eddie Jones’s successor. Jones has been backed by the Rugby Football Union to…
Jacques Vermeulen’s return inspires Exeter Chiefs to victory over Sale Sharks
After a long injury stoppage for a head injury to Sale replacement Cameron Neild, the Sharks got a foothold in the game when hooker Ewan Ashman crashed…
Joe Simmonds kicks last-gasp penalty to win match for Exeter at the death against Northampton
Northampton Saints 31-34 Exeter Chiefs Joe Simmonds lifted Exeter’s Premiership spirits as well as the Devon men back into the top four with the decisive penalty in…
Why Eddie Jones chose Sam Simmonds over Alex Dombrandt as England’s No 8
Simmonds’ habit of scoring tries has never precluded him from defensive industry, of course. He is particularly adept at tearing after kicks to pressurise opponents. ‘He’s a…
Luke Cowan-Dickie interview: How did I react when Eddie Jones gave me a crate of Guinness? I thanked him
As Rob Baxter, his director of rugby at Exeter Chiefs, readily admits, Cowan-Dickie was not the “archetypal professional” earlier in his career, but says he has always…
Five reasons London Irish can be Premiership playoff contenders
Down 14-0 on the verge of the second quarter, Irish mustered some fluency. Stokes skipped past a couple of tackles from full-back and Adam Coleman’s offloading caught…
Les Kiss hails ‘gem’ Tom Pearson as London Irish continue playoff push with comeback win over Exeter
Down 14-0 on the verge of the second quarter, Irish mustered some fluency. Stokes skipped past a couple of tackles from full-back and Adam Coleman’s offloading caught…
Exeter Chiefs to replace Native American-themed logo at end of season
In November, the National Congress of American Indians outlined its objections to Exeter’s logo and the tomahawk chop chant used by their supporters. An annual general meeting…
Exeter Chiefs’ fudged decision feels like a victory for gesture politics
Supporters of the Atlanta Braves, the reigning World Series champions, still participate in practices that have somehow rendered Exeter beyond the pale. They perform Tomahawk Chop chants…
Exeter’s ‘Drifter’ move is a work of genius – and has revitalised their season
Don’t get me started on “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. I have spent hours Googling who said it…
Exeter pounce at the death to beat Harlequins and seal double over defending Premier 15s champions
Exeter’s hopes appeared to be fading with the January light but a glimmer soon appeared. After a burst down the right, Exeter battered on the door and…
Rejuvenated Exeter Chiefs thrash Glasgow as Tom O’Flaherty bags hat-trick in front of Eddie Jones
Exeter Chiefs 52 Glasgow 17 Below their exacting standards for much of this campaign, this was the night that Exeter Chiefs burst into life as they buried…
Exeter beginning to rediscover form of old with win over below-par Bristol
The fans in that East Stand were brought into the action early as Exeter attacked towards their side, wing Jack Nowell putting a kick through for Hogg…
Exeter Chiefs handed double blow as Jonny Hill and Sam Skinner confirm departures
Exeter Chiefs have been dealt a double blow following confirmation that international forwards Jonny Hill and Sam Skinner will leave the club at the end of the…
Glasgow deliver serious – but not fatal – blow to Exeter’s Champions Cup hopes in thick pea-soup fog
It says much that it took Exeter until 35 minutes before they finally launched a sustained assault on Glasgow’s line after Joe Simmonds kicked a penalty into…
Jonny Gray bags rare hat-trick as Exeter Chiefs hammer depleted Montpellier
Exeter Chiefs 42 Montpellier 6 Jonny Gray scored a hat-trick of tries and fellow Scotland international Stuart Hogg also got a touchdown as 2020 Heineken Champions Cup…
The referee was right to march Saracens back – all players need to learn to keep their mouths shut
It seems that every few years, after condoning this or that practice, that World Rugby, or the RFU, finally understands what their referees have created by failing…
Saracens pay the price for ill discipline as Exeter edge tense contest against rivals
The conversion faded wide, so Exeter turned around with a two-point advantage. Lozowski, in clinical form, cancelled that out early in the second period. After yet more…
Exeter v Saracens — inside English rugby’s spikiest rivalry
Almost two years ago to the day, Rob Baxter fired the gun on a rivalry that had been simmering within English rugby for much of the decade…
Improved Bath fall to cruel defeat against Exeter Chiefs
Rarely can Exeter be accused of sloppiness, but they were in the first half. A fabulous early Bath scrum allowed fly-half Orlando Bailey to open the scoring,…