logo
Walder takes up Exeter Chiefs coaching role

Walder takes up Exeter Chiefs coaching role

BBC News17-05-2025

Exeter Chiefs have appointed England Under-20s attack coach Dave Walder as an assistant to the club's coaching staff.The 46-year-old former Newcastle Falcons boss has been coaching the club's backs in recent weeks following the suspension of previous backs and attack coach Ali Hepher.Hepher and head coach Rob Hunter were stood down from their roles in the wake of Exeter's club-record 79-17 loss at Gloucester last month. The pair have both since left the club, with Hepher ending his 16-year spell at Sandy Park on Friday.Earlier this week, director of rugby Rob Baxter refused to comment on whether Walder was helping the side, despite a photo on the club's social media showing him at a training session."I'm really excited to have the opportunity to come down to the Chiefs to work with a really talented group of players as well as a young, dynamic coaching group," Walder told the club website., external"I can't wait to get started; I'm looking forward to working with this squad. "It's obviously been a really tough year for them results-wise, but the green shoots of growth are there, so I'm excited to work with the group moving forward."
Walder has also spent time as Bristol's backs and skills coach and joins Exeter as the club comes to the end of their worst season in the top flight.They have won just four Premiership games all season and are guaranteed to finish second from bottom.Walder will be part of the Exeter coaching team for Sunday's trip to Harlequins."I've known Dave a long time, and I really appreciate the work he put in for a lengthy period at Newcastle," Baxter said."I thought he did a fantastic job there with relatively limited resources. He always brought out the best in the group that he had working with him."More recently, he's been working with some of our England Under-20 players, and those guys have only had positive things to say about him."It's fantastic for us to have someone of his experience and capabilities joining us. "Hopefully he'll take us forward with our attacking game and how we want our backs to play. With him coming on board, we're really looking forward to getting on with the remainder of the season."

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trent Alexander-Arnold reveals he's been ‘waiting a long time' to join Real Madrid, then issues immediate clarification
Trent Alexander-Arnold reveals he's been ‘waiting a long time' to join Real Madrid, then issues immediate clarification

The Sun

time31 minutes ago

  • The Sun

Trent Alexander-Arnold reveals he's been ‘waiting a long time' to join Real Madrid, then issues immediate clarification

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD quickly corrected himself after letting slip he had been "waiting a long time" to join Real Madrid. The defender was announced as a Real Madrid player after the Spanish giants stumped up £10million to sign him early from Liverpool. Alexander-Arnold revealed his excitement at putting pen to paper on what he described as a "proud day". But he also dropped a clanger after suggesting he had been waiting a long time to become a Real player. He said at a press conference: "Very, very exciting for me. A day I've been waiting a long time for now. "Very excited, very happy, very proud to be here. It's a dream to be here but there's still a lot of hard work to do and I'm excited to get started straight away. It's an exciting time for me." The England star quickly corrected that statement, clarifying he meant he has only been waiting a few weeks for his switch to the Bernbeu. He added: "To clear that up, by waiting a long time I mean a couple of weeks. Not years. "But I am very excited be here. Whether you support the club or not, you have to respect the trophies that the club win. "No matter what, that has been always there for me. I have always admired players and clubs that win trophies." Alexander-Arnold, 26, showed off his fluent Spanish at his Real Madrid unveiling. His short speech left fans stunned and won him applause from those who gathered at the event. He said in Spanish: "Good afternoon. Thank you to (club president) Florentino Perez and the club for this opportunity. "This doesn't happen every day, it's a dream come true. "I'm very happy and proud to be here. I want to show Real Madrid fans how I play. "I realise that I am signing for Real Madrid and that the demands are high but I am going to give my all for the team and Real Madrid fans. "I want to show those fans how I play, I want to win many titles, I want to be a winner here and enjoy playing alongside the best players in the world. Hala Madrid."

Boulter exits Queen's and loses British number one spot
Boulter exits Queen's and loses British number one spot

BBC News

time35 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Boulter exits Queen's and loses British number one spot

Katie Boulter suffered a last-16 exit at Queen's to fifth seed Diana Shnaider and will now relinquish her title as British number one for the first time in two 28-year-old battled hard but lost 2-6 6-3 6-2 on a hot but rain-affected day in west has held the top spot in British tennis since June 2023 but Emma Raducanu will now move ahead of her in the Boulter out, it is over to two more Britons to try for a place in the quarter-finals at the first women's Queen's event since Watson takes on 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina before Raducanu faces Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova later on bidding to reach a seventh quarter-final on grass, had expressed concern about her serve earlier in the week, suggesting she would be working on it in the build-up to this no such troubles were apparent in the opening set against Shnaider as Boulter continually caused problems behind her first saved a break point then secured an impressive break to love with a crowd-pleasing volley, Boulter battled to consolidate with an important hold, saving another break point along the then took the double break with a sweeping forehand and more solid serving handed Boulter the opening set as rain threatened to come down in west by the time the umpire suspended play because of a downpour, Boulter was down a break at 4-1 and in trouble on serve a 20-minute rain delay, she returned to be broken for a second time and, despite recovering one break, she could not prevent Shnaider from taking the second set and forcing a once again found herself under the cosh in the opening game, wiping out three break points to secure the hold as problems on serve returned with a saved more break points in her next service game only to double fault and concede the there, Boulter struggled to regroup and went a double break down. She could not find a way back in her bid to book a fifth quarter-final in a WTA 500 event as Shnaider set up a meeting with American second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store