Exeter coaches agree new deal to stay at Sandy Park

ROB Baxter insists there is a “burning desire” among Chiefs coaching staff to take the Devon club onto even greater things, after he and his three trusty lieutenants - Ali Hepher, Rob Hunter and Ricky Pellow – agreed new three-year deals with the champions.

Baxter will take on the new title of director of rugby for the 2017/18 season, while Hepher has been named the club’s new head coach. Both Hunter (forwards coach) and Pellow (skills coach) will continue in their current roles.

The new deals for the quartet come just weeks after they helped oversee Exeter’s Twickenham triumph, where the Chiefs saw off rivals Wasps in extra time to lift English rugby’s top prize for the first time.

Baxter said: “One of the strengths of this coaching team is that we all offer something different to the mix. We all want to be successful and we all want to see the players do as well as they can. Where we are different is that we see other things differently at times and can challenge one another if necessary.

“Yes, we’ve got experts in certain areas, but at the same time we’re more than happy to have some pretty lively discussions about things. Anyone who sits near us in the grandstand will often hear them going on during a match-day!

“What I like, though, is that we can have disagreements or heated debates, but when it comes down to it, we all get over it pretty quickly and then get on with it. We all want the same things to happen. We have a burning desire among us all to work hard and do the very best we can for one another and the team.”