Every club once wanted to ‘do an Exeter' — so what's gone wrong?
T he post-Covid world has not been kind to English rugby, with financial problems putting paid to three Premiership clubs. Exeter Chiefs endure, yet their downturn has been stark. From champions of England and Europe in 2020 to a club restructuring their coaching staff (again) mid-season, near the bottom of the table, and still with budgetary work to do.
After Sunday's 79-17 defeat by Gloucester came Monday's news that the coaches Ali Hepher and Rob Hunter had been suspended, pending a review of the match and season, with three rounds remaining. The great success story of English rugby has become a byword for instability.
'Doing an Exeter' was the desire of every club in the land. They were the model for the opportunity that ringfencing would
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