On April 27 last year, Exeter Chiefs hit arguably the lowest point in their modern history when they shipped 13 tries to be hammered 79-17 at Gloucester.
The humbling prompted long-term club chairman and benefactor Tony Rowe to read the riot act to his players in the Kingsholm changing room. It was the nadir of a season which saw Rob Baxter’s side finish second bottom of the PREM table, winning just four of 18 league games. It was humiliating for a club that has lifted the title and been crowned champions of Europe.
A little over a year on, Exeter are now back at the top of England’s domestic game. They will take on Bath on Saturday in the second of the PREM’s play-offs as dark horses to be crowned champions.
Here’s how the Chiefs have engineered a stunning turnaround.
BAXTER BACK
Director of rugby Baxter has been in charge of Exeter since 2009, a long period in anyone’s books. But in 2025, he took something of a step back, handing more control to assistants Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher. The move didn’t go well.
The Gloucester hammering prompted widespread change, on the back of Rowe’s fury. Hunter and Hepher departed and Baxter took back his position at the helm. The 55-year-old lives and breathes the Chiefs and it is clear that for the club to be at their best, it is Baxter who has to be centre stage.
This season has been firm evidence of that.
With Rob Baxter back at the helm, Exeter have recovered their form this season
BRUTAL PRE-SEASON
Exeter didn’t have one player selected for last summer’s Lions tour and lost only a handful of internationals to their respective countries, so they were able to hit their pre-season campaign hard.
Baxter pulled no punches, running brutal fitness sessions on Exmouth beach with a significant emphasis on repeated physical efforts as well as skill work under pressure and fatigue. So hard were the sessions that during one beach visit, Baxter feared new South African hooker Joseph Dweba was going to quit.
‘The difference in the pre-season in terms of the way the boys turned up to it and how hard it was compared to previous years was night and day,’ said Exeter’s veteran England centre Henry Slade, who has been sensational this term and is the PREM’s leading points scorer.
‘It was up there with a World Cup pre-season. It was bloody hard. Rob wanted to make us hard to beat and mentally and physically tough. He’s done that.’
Exeter attack coach Dave Walder said: ‘Everyone was in a dark place and couldn’t wait to draw a line at the end of the season. Rob made it pretty clear what pre-season would look like and how tough it was going to be. He told the boys not to underestimate it and they came back in really good shape and hit the ground running.
‘I’ve never been involved in a pre-season like it. That gives you confidence and then you start the season well and you get a little bit of momentum and the players start believing.’
Baxter feared new South African hooker Joseph Dweba (right) was going to quit, so brutal was pre-season training
Henry Slade has been sensational this term and is the PREM’s leading points scorer going into the play-offs
TOP SIGNINGS
Australian internationals Tom Hooper and Len Ikitau were the headline arrivals at Exeter for this season. Both joined up after its start due to Test commitments, though they were worth the wait.
Flanker Hooper has been outstanding and emerged as a real fan favourite. Centre Ikitau is staying for just one season and his time in Devon was interrupted by a serious shoulder injury, though like Hooper he has shown his international class.
There can be no doubt Baxter’s recruitment has been exceptional, helping take his team from the wrong end of the table to the other. His best signing, however, has arguably been Andrea Zambonin. The Italian lock joined from United Rugby Championship strugglers Zebre but has emerged as a fearsome line-out operator and athletic forward. He’s now one of the first names on the team sheet and helped his country beat England during the Six Nations.
Australian centre Len Ikitau has been a great signing for Exeter despite picking up a serious shoulder injury
But Andrea Zambonin has been the best signing. The Italian lock has emerged as a fearsome line-out operator and athletic forward
RETURN TO POWER GAME
During their peak years when they lifted the PREM and Champions Cup trophies, Exeter were known as a team with fearsome power. When they got close to the line then, they could not be stopped.
Aided by an increase in fitness, Baxter has brought that back. His tight forwards have been excellent, led by captain Dafydd Jenkins and Zambonin as the second-row pairing. Exeter now have raw power and punch back in their game and statistically the league’s best defence.
‘Now we’re in the top four, people are saying Exeter have had a good season,’ said Baxter. ‘But now it’s going to be really disappointing if we lose a semi-final. It will almost feel like a disappointing end, but we’ve still had a really good season. That’s how sport is. I’m incredibly proud of what the team has achieved and the group of men they are.’
Dafydd Jenkins congratulates Zambonin for scoring against Sarries last week. The pair have added real power to the Exeter pack
BARBECUES AND BEERS
Exeter aren’t alone in having a good team spirit and for their players to be friends away from rugby. But the Chiefs use their Devon location to regularly socialise with beach visits and barbeques. Hooper is an almost constant presence at the gatherings, by his own admission.
When Exeter produced a statement win at Saracens before Christmas, Baxter’s players celebrated with beers and songs on the long bus ride back west. When Daily Mail Sport visited Sandy Park ahead of the home victory over the same opponents which sealed a play-off spot, dance music was blaring pitchside. There is certainly a feelgood factor at the club.
AND IT COULD SOON GET EVEN BETTER!
Whether or not Exeter make next weekend’s PREM final, it is unlikely they will be back at the bottom end of the league soon. Rowe expects the club’s takeover by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment—the American group led by billionaire Bill Foley which also owns Premier League side AFC Bournemouth – to be completed soon.
Significant financial investment into the Sandy Park outfit both on and off the field is set to follow and Baxter has committed to a fresh, long-term deal. The signs are positive. ‘I want this team to be successful and build their own history,’ Baxter said. Don’t bet against them upsetting Bath at The Rec on Saturday first.
