When you think of Exeter Chiefs, the first person who comes to mind is probably their director of rugby, Rob Baxter.
Before the glitz and glamor of top class rugby, when they were struggling for central stability in National One or competing with Devonia and Plymouth Albion, Baxter was a steady rock for Exeter.
300+ appearances for the club, during his 10-year tenure as manager, also tell the story of a club legend that is often forgotten.
He is largely overlooked for his role as the man on the hot seat following his appointment as head coach in 2009.
Even the bravest Exeter fan could not have dreamed of the success Baxter would announce.
It started right away, as Chiefs were promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history in his first year in charge.
‘I’ve always tried to see it as a privilege’
It is likely to be a year at the Premier than Exeter fans would have expected after the days at the County Ground. The match day program had an ad that Exeter had won the league which was almost a tongue twister.
However, it soon became unrelenting. After slowly progressing, Chiefs reached the playoffs in 2016 for the first time, and a year later lifted the trophy after beating Wasps.
‘The rugby story that brought a smile to the face of every neutral in the country has a happy ending,’ said Nick Mullins, as Gareth Steenson and Jack Yeandle threw silverware into the air at the home of English rugby. Exeter, little old Exeter, were the Kings of English rugby.
England was not enough for them after that and in 2020, they got their crowning moment. The Champions Cup.
Exeter, little old Exeter, were the Kings of European rugby.
And Baxter was the inventor of it all.
“I don’t think you can look at one thing as your life,” DoR says honestly, reflecting on his time at Exeter. “Not when you have a family and your family grows up and moves away, and it’s never everything.
“I spend many hours and many days at work, and I have always tried to look at it as a privilege.” The moment you forget is what makes you wrong.
“It doesn’t mean that sometimes it can be physically and emotionally difficult, but at the same time, you are in a job that at one time many people did just for fun, and they did it to enjoy it.
He continues: “I didn’t take on the job of being a career coach.
“I didn’t go ‘a few years of this, that would be a good experience’, then I could move here, move there, try different things.
Exeter Chiefs: Rob Baxter’s belief of a “bright future for the club” has been revealed as the long-serving manager makes a decision on the future.
“I was enjoying training at the same time as I was finishing my playing career, then I got a job opportunity.
“There’s no time I’ve done it just as a job and a step forward. I’ve done it as well as I can every day, and I’m trying to keep the future going for me, the team and the team.
That’s all we did.
“Rob has been central to the club’s growth, as he has helped build its foundations as a player,” added club CEO and chairman Tony Rowe. “He is an Exeter Chiefs man through and through and has led us to some of our most memorable moments.
“He has also built a new coaching staff and a group of young players who are already motivated and capable of competing at the highest level. It will be exciting to see where he can take them over the next few years.”
‘Of course there were times’
But, while there will be glory, and rightly so, in the good times he brought to Exeter, there have been some bad parts there too.
Chiefs enter the campaign off the back of their worst ever season in the top flight, finishing the campaign ninth with just four wins from 18 games and losing all four of their Investec Champions Cup games as well. Only a run to the PREM Cup final highlighted what a dark year it had been for the Chiefs, and even so, they lost 48-14 at Bath Sandy Park.
Inside, they also saw a major shake-up in their coaching staff, with Omar Mounamie leaving for the first time in a long season while Ali Hepher and Rob Hunter exited after a 79-17 thrashing at Gloucester.
And, he even felt that his time was about to end.
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“That year it was a standout that was probably the boost we needed.” I don’t mind admitting it, it was a slap in the face and a boost that we needed, and it happened,” Baxter said.
“Last season, yes (he thought his time was coming to an end) Of course there were times.
“There are times when you look at what we can do to turn the season around, and whatever we tried couldn’t get us there.
“We had a turnaround over Christmas where we won a couple of important games, which bought us real momentum. There were moments, of course there were. I was lucky to have the opportunity to get things going again towards the end of the season, which highlighted the way we were going to go forward.
“It just goes to show that you can change things and make them better with a few key issues addressed.”
Exeter will have to consider the time without Baxter again, although he is as important to the foundations of the club as the concrete that holds Sandy Park together, but that is not here and now.
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“Who knows,” he adds when asked if this is his last deal. “A year ago, the future would have said that I won’t get another contract, and the future years from now would say the same.
“I have time to think if more contracts are coming, it’s not something I’m going to think about right now. I’m a big believer that contracts take care of themselves, and you have to take care of what you have to do every day.
“There will be a time when it’s the right time for someone else or me to move, but I don’t see that anytime soon.”
However, one thing is certain. Baxter’s story finds another chapter. The Exeter Chiefs get another chapter. The story that once brought a smile to every neutral’s face gets another chapter.
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