Exeter fly the flag for a forgotten corner of England
Chiefs and City give the South West an overdue weekend in the sun, writes Daniel Schofield
In 1497, an army formed in the South West. A rebellion that started in Cornwall and gathered support in Devon marched on London in protest at what it saw as excessive taxation. It did not end well for the agitators. The 15,000-strong army was routed by Henry VII’S men at Blackheath and their leaders, Thomas Flamank and Michael Joseph An Gof, were subsequently hung, drawn and quartered.
Tomorrow another expedition will set forth for the capital. The A303 will hum to the beat of the Tomahawk Chop, as Rob Baxter’s Exeter Chiefs face Wasps in the Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham. Many of that number will remain in London for Exeter City’s League Two play-off final against Blackpool at Wembley the following day.
The South West – the “real South West” as Exeter chairman Tony Rowe refers to it – of Cornwall, Devon and parts of Somerset, can feel physically cut off from the rest of the country.
Its isolation is particularly acute in a sporting context. Plymouth is the largest city in England never to have had a top-flight football team. In 1948, Devon’s application to join the County Championship was rejected, leaving them and Cornwall marooned in the Minor Counties Championship.
In rugby, both Devon and Cornwall boast proud histories in the County Championship, but that competition faded into the shadows during the dawn of professionalism.
When it came to drawing up arrangements for the first academies in 2000, the entire region was forgotten by the Rugby Football Union until Rowe and his counterparts at Plymouth Albion and Cornish Pirates intervened to form the West of England academy that would go on to produce such talent as Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-dickie.
It was Rowe’s dream when he took charge of the Chiefs 20 years ago to establish a super club that would represent not just Exeter but the entire region. He remembers figures in the corridors of power at Twickenham laughing in his face when he told them of his vision.
“Rob Baxter and I sat down many years ago and we said there were two things that we wanted to achieve,” Rowe said. “Firstly we wanted to win the Premiership. Secondly we wanted to field a full West Country side in the Premiership.”
The first goal is tantalisingly close. Reaching the final last year was seen as an achievement in itself. There was no mistaking that the mood around Sandy Park this week was very much one of a job half done, after victory over last season’s conquerors, Saracens.
The second goal is a longer-term project. “It is possible,” Rowe said. “About 45 per cent of our squad are Devon and Cornwall boys. We will get there. It is like winning the Premiership. We are not in a hurry to do it, but when we get there it will be worth it. Every time one of our academy boys takes to the field, it is a proud moment for the club. Jack Nowell, the first Lions player the club has ever produced, is a Newlyn boy who came to us when he was 12.
“The young man who scored the winning try against Saracens, Sam Simmonds, is a young lad from Teignmouth. He and his brother came up through our academy and we would have been coaching that lad from around 12-13 years of age.”
The rise of Nowell and Cowan-dickie, both products of Penzance and Newlyn RC, has strengthened Exeter’s ties with Cornwall. Wherever the Chiefs go, Cornish flags will follow.
“Cornwall is such a long way from anywhere that any time you see a Cornish flag in the stands you know that they have made a real effort to travel,” Rowe said. “It
gives you that feeling in your heart. After the Six Nations last year Jack and I managed to get hold of a couple of flags, and that was really special.”
Asked how he would sum up people from the South West, Rowe suggests “hard work” and “family”. It is no coincidence that those two qualities run through the club from the top down.
Prop Ben Moon, from Tiverton, one of the survivors from their Championship days, says anyone looking for a stunning secret to the Chiefs’ rise will be disappointed.
“It is literally down to hard work,” Moon said. “You work hard for each other and you enjoy each other’s company. We have kept that culture from day one up until today.
“It is really important to us to keep those grass-roots elements that a lot of clubs don’t have these days. Enjoying a beer on the back of the bus and with our supporters is a big part of who we are.
“That bond we have with our fans is really special. To hear them in full voice raises the hairs on the back of your neck. They are dedicated to supporting us and we are dedicated to putting in a decent performance for them.
“Players who have come and gone in the past say we have something special. That’s nice to hear as a local lad, as this is the only thing I have really experienced on the rugby side.”
One can only imagine the quantity of alcohol that will be consumed should Exeter fulfil the first part of Rowe’s original master plan.
“There’s been no top-level sport in the West Country for a long time,” Rowe said. “If we come back with the trophy on Sunday that will be massive for Exeter and massive for the West Country. There’s always been so much sporting passion and talent in this part of the world. This would be our chance to prove it. ”