Why the Chiefs can rediscover that title winning feeling in 2023/24

The Chiefs meteoric rise from the foot of English rugby to the summit of the Premiership is well-documented. The club’s promotion from the Championship in 2010 was the realization of years of hard work but the culmination of that journey has been the success the club experienced in the 13 years since that momentous day. Now Exeter are renowned as one of the top sides not only in the English game, but across Europe as well. The ever-present Rob Baxter has led the Chiefs throughout the entirety of this remarkable period and has cultivated a deep respect from the rugby world for his accomplishments across his tenure. 

However, over the past two seasons the Chiefs form in the Premiership has dipped and the stronghold that Baxter was establishing on the domestic game has started to slip. From the 2015/16 season to the 2020/21 campaign, Exeter were perennial Premiership finalists making six consecutive appearances at the annual showdown and finishing top of the table on three occasions. Since then though, the Chiefs have underperformed with back-to-back seventh place finishes. The downturn in form and failure to reach the playoffs will be a concern for fans, particularly given the current climate in English rugby. Can the Chiefs get back on track this year or does this spell the end of a legendary era for the Devon club? 

English rugby as a whole has endured a challenging time since the Covid pandemic began in early 2020. Three iconic English Rugby institutions in Worcester Warriors, London Irish and Wasps have all been struck by financial woes and there are still concerns that more could fall by the wayside in the months to come. While some have made the most out of the turbulent period to mount a resurgence up the table like Sale and 2021/22 champions Leicester, Exeter have suffered. Chief Executive Tony Rowe has assured fans that the club remains financially stable amidst the various competitors announcements of administration last campaign, but that hasn’t stopped Rowe needing to take action to keep the club out of the financial mire. A percentage of shares in Sandy Park Hotel limited were sold to Rowe in order to provide capital and to help pay off debts accrued by the club due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. Rowe has admitted that it has been a tough few months but is confident that the club will be back in ‘full recovery mode’ come the start of the new Premiership campaign. 

There is no end in sight for this turmoil across the rest of the league either as rumours are now emerging of Newcastle Falcons being the next on the chopping block with several players heading elsewhere this summer and potential for a voluntary relegation to the Championship being discussed. Given the relative instability of the English game in the wake of the pandemic, it wouldn’t be all too surprising to think that the financial situation behind the scenes has had an impact on the players and filtered down to their performances on the pitch. 

Exeter’s position in the league last season was a fair reflection of how they performed on the pitch; there were some moments of brilliance like the last-gasp win at Sandy Park over Harlequins but that was matched by some desperately dismal displays like the 62-19 drubbing at Welford Road. Even so, the Chiefs registered 10 wins from their 20 games, only one win short of Northampton Saints who made the playoffs in fourth spot. The Premiership is always a tight affair, often decided by how many bonus points you accumulate over the course of the season and Exeter were made to pay for their lack of killer instinct. That is the key factor that has been lost since the team’s six season stretch of reaching the final. It’s what epitomised the team that not only won the club’s second Premiership crown in 2020 but also earned its first ever European Champions Cup too in a now iconic double-winning season. 

When Exeter beat Wasps for their first Premiership title in 2017, it was that which got them over the line in extra-time. The frustrating thing for Exter fans will be knowing that this side has the ability and quality to rediscover it. The Chiefs are currently 16/1 to win the Premiership next season according to a range of new online bookmakers. While those might not be the best odds they showed glimpses of what they are truly capable of last season, throughout their Champions Cup run that took them to the semi-finals only to fall short against eventual winners La Rochelle and in their Premiership Cup victory. It is simply a matter of consistency. 

The scale of the challenge to find that though will be tough. Several big names have departed since last season’s conclusion. Dave Ewers, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Sam and Joe Simmonds, Jack Nowell and Stuart Hogg are just a few of the well-renowned names who won’t be making a return to Sandy Park in 2023/24. The club will have to rebuild and it will be up to this new-look squad to get the Chiefs back to winning ways. The Rugby World Cup provides the perfect opportunity for this squad to gel and the early signs are positive with wins over Bristol and Cornish Pirates in their opening two Premiership Cup matches. The new emerging stars of this side will have a tough job trying to maintain that level of performance over the course of the season but its important Chiefs fans remind themselves that Baxter has pulled this trick off before. From 2010 to that glorious day in the Twickenham sun in 2017, Exeter went from strength to strength year on year, building a side of relative unknowns into an indomitable force. They found consistency and stayed up when everyone had them billed as favourites for relegation, improving every game until nobody could best them. In Baxter, the Chiefs have the perfect man at the helm to navigate this tough task and get their Premiership legacy story back on track.