Exeter Chiefs spent 2025-26 proving that their rebuild had accelerated beyond almost anyone’s expectations. Now comes the harder part: proving it was not a one-season surge.
Rob Baxter’s young side jumped from ninth place to third, reached the PREM final, won a semifinal at defending champion Bath and advanced deep into two other knockout competitions. The Chiefs rediscovered an old Exeter trait in the process. They became extraordinarily difficult to kill.
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That is the central question entering 2026-27. Exeter no longer need to demonstrate that their new generation can compete. Dafydd Jenkins, Greg Fisilau, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Campbell Ridl, Tom Hooper and Andrea Zambonin have already done that. They need to show that a team built on defensive resilience, physicality and emerging strike power can withstand heavier expectations, Champions Cup rugby, international absences and significant offseason change.
Exeter look like contenders again. Whether they become champions again depends on turning resilience into repeatable control.
What 2025-26 Told Us About Exeter Chiefs
The most important number was not third place. It was 367.
That was how many points Exeter conceded across 18 regular-season PREM matches, the league’s best defensive total. The Chiefs finished 11-1-6 with 65 points and a plus-154 differential, scoring 521 points and 72 tries while conceding 51. They earned at least one table point in every league match.
Their season repeatedly became an exercise in refusing defeat. Exeter trailed Northampton 33-7 at halftime in the opener and drew 33-33. In the semifinal at Bath, they trailed 26-10 at halftime, scored the final 17 points, then defended more than 40 phases after time expired to win 27-26. Northampton finally stopped them 26-17 in the PREM final.
That resilience traveled through the cups. Exeter reached the PREM Rugby Cup final before Leicester demolished them 66-14, and reached the Challenge Cup semifinal after knockout wins over Munster and Benetton before losing 29-12 at Ulster.
There were weaknesses inside the success. Discipline hurt them in important matches. Their lineout malfunctioned at costly moments against Ulster and Northampton. They sometimes generated territory without converting it efficiently.
And their home dominance concealed a major split. Exeter went 7-0-2 at Sandy Park and outscored league opponents 263-118 there. Away, they were 4-1-4 and outscored opponents only 258-249. Almost all their regular-season points differential was created at home.
Still, after winning only four league matches and finishing ninth in 2024-25, reaching the final represented emphatic overachievement. The rebuild stopped being theoretical.
Exeter Chiefs’s Offseason Changed The Stakes
Twenty players left the wider squad, but the departures that matter most are Len Ikitau and Scott Sio.
Ikitau became Exeter’s first-choice inside center during the run to the final, giving the Chiefs an elite international defender and carrier beside Henry Slade. Sio started the final at loosehead and supplied Test-level scrummaging experience and leadership. Christ Tshiunza, Rusi Tuima and Will Rigg also leave meaningful holes in the rotation.
Exeter responded with a more experienced recruitment class than during the leanest rebuilding years. Georgian loosehead Nika Abuladze is the direct answer to Sio. Will Butt arrives from Bath as a powerful center-wing and immediate midfield option. Harry Wilson adds abrasive lock/back-row depth, while Sam Wolstenholme strengthens the scrum-half competition.
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The headline signing is Dallas McLeod, the All Blacks-capped Crusaders center recruited with Ikitau’s departure specifically in mind. The complication is enormous: McLeod does not arrive until the end of 2026.
That makes Exeter potentially deeper in the medium term but weaker during the opening months. Zambonin will miss the start after shoulder surgery. Paul Brown-Bampoe is unavailable until at least October. Jenkins has been rehabilitating his shoulder, although Exeter hoped he could make the PREM opener.
Off the field, Black Knight Rugby’s takeover changes the longer-term equation. New investment gives Exeter greater capacity to spend toward the salary cap and reinvest in performance infrastructure.
The roster is roughly unchanged in top-end quality. The resources surrounding it may be improving considerably.
Exeter Chiefs Projected Starting XV For 2026-27
This is a projection of Exeter’s strongest side once McLeod and Zambonin are available, not an announced lineup.
- Loosehead Prop — Nika Abuladze
- Hooker — Max Norey
- Tighthead Prop — Bachuki Tchumbadze
- Lock — Dafydd Jenkins (captain)
- Lock — Andrea Zambonin
- Blindside Flanker — Tom Hooper
- Openside Flanker — Ethan Roots
- No. 8 — Greg Fisilau
- Scrum-Half — Stephen Varney
- Fly-Half — Harvey Skinner
- Left Wing — Campbell Ridl
- Inside Center — Dallas McLeod
- Outside Center — Henry Slade
- Right Wing — Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
- Fullback — Olly Woodburn
Projected Bench
- Joseph Dweba
- Archie McArthur
- Josh Iosefa-Scott
- Harry Wilson
- Ross Vintcent
- Sam Wolstenholme
- Will Haydon-Wood
- Will Butt
The hardest calls are everywhere Baxter should want them. Dweba, Norey and Jack Yeandle make hooker genuinely competitive. Tchumbadze and Iosefa-Scott can both claim the tighthead shirt. Vintcent can displace Roots depending on the desired back-row balance, while 21-year-old Wales international Kane James may be too good to keep outside the 23 for long.
Fullback is similarly open. Woodburn offers reliability and positional intelligence, while Tommy Wyatt and Sam Harris provide more natural fullback profiles. Before McLeod arrives, Butt becomes especially important at 12.
The back five is Exeter’s deepest area. The early-season second row and midfield are much less comfortable.
The Players Who Make Exeter Go
Feyi-Waboso gives Exeter the game-breaking threat that can turn ordinary possession into points. His acceleration and power make him dangerous without requiring a perfectly constructed attack, and his 13 tries across competitions last season came despite interruptions.
Slade remains the rugby brain. At 33, he is Exeter’s tactical kicker, likely primary goal kicker, distributor and defensive organizer. His ability to operate as another first receiver gives Skinner and Varney more options and becomes especially valuable while Exeter rebuild the inside-center partnership.
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Fisilau may best represent the entire project. At 23, he has already accumulated extensive Exeter experience, established himself at No. 8 and pushed into England’s senior squad. His carrying and work rate anchor a back row overflowing with alternatives.
Jenkins is the emotional and structural leader. The 23-year-old Wales lock captained Exeter in the final and, when healthy, forms an outstanding second-row partnership with Zambonin. The Italian’s 11 opposition lineout steals last season illustrate how much Exeter lose while he is injured.
Hooper gives the pack another Test-level pillar. The Wallaby made 23 appearances in his first Exeter season, earned PREM Team of the Season recognition and supplies the size and physicality Baxter values.
Then there is Ridl. The 21-year-old, 6-foot-5 wing scored a club-best 17 tries across all competitions and went from senior newcomer to PREM-final starter. Opponents know him now. His second season will reveal whether his finishing, aerial ability and support running can keep developing as scouting attention increases.
How Exeter Chiefs Win Matches
Exeter have modernized without abandoning themselves.
The old Chiefs were built around retention, close-range carrying, scrum pressure and relentless five-meter work. This team still wants front-row credibility, powerful forwards and a maul capable of finishing opportunities. The winning score in the Bath semifinal came from a driven lineout.
But Walder’s attack has added more speed and freedom. Feyi-Waboso, Ridl and Brown-Bampoe provide open-field acceleration, while Slade supplies the vision to exploit turnovers and fractured defensive lines. McLeod and Butt should add different forms of midfield power.
The foundation, however, is defensive. Exeter’s league-low points conceded allowed them to survive periods when the attack stalled. Their kick chase, physical back five and willingness to defend patiently can force opponents into the kind of broken possession their backs punish.
That combination explains why Baxter’s description of the team as “ultra-competitive” fits better than calling Exeter an attacking juggernaut. They could score tries — 14 try bonus points prove that — but their defining characteristic was keeping games alive.
The approach breaks down when pressure becomes imprecision. Penalties and cards cost Exeter against Stade Français and Northampton. Lineout execution faltered against Ulster and in the PREM final. The next evolution is simple to describe and difficult to achieve: create the same pressure without requiring another comeback.
Why Exeter Chiefs Can Challenge Again
The strongest argument for Exeter is that last season contained too much high-level evidence to dismiss.
They beat Leicester twice and Saracens twice in the regular season, split with Bath, then beat Bath away in a semifinal. Their defense was the league’s stingiest. Sandy Park became a fortress again. And much of the core should still be improving rather than declining.
The back five is particularly compelling. Jenkins, Zambonin, Hooper, Fisilau, Roots and Vintcent combine height, carrying, lineout value and international experience, with James pushing from behind. Around them, Feyi-Waboso and Ridl give Exeter finishers capable of changing matches quickly.
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Sandy Park is another reason Exeter’s floor looks sturdy. Last season’s seven wins in nine home league matches and plus-145 home differential made Devon the engine of their table position. Repeating that dominance matters because the away margins were thinner. If Exeter protect home ground while becoming more consistent on the road, another top-four finish becomes easier to construct.
There is also evidence the club can survive knockout pressure. Bath threw almost everything at Exeter after halftime in the semifinal and scored nothing. That does not guarantee another playoff run, but it establishes a psychological reference point this group can trust.
If Abuladze stabilizes loosehead, McLeod settles quickly and the defense remains elite, Exeter can beat anyone in England.
What Could Stop The Exeter Chiefs?
The most plausible problem is accumulation rather than one fatal flaw.
Exeter lost their starting loosehead and inside center from the final. McLeod cannot replace Ikitau immediately. Zambonin begins the season injured. Meanwhile, the very development that makes the rebuild exciting creates an international-availability problem.
Slade and Feyi-Waboso are established England figures. Jenkins and James are Wales internationals. Varney, Vintcent and Zambonin are in Italy’s orbit, Hooper is a Wallaby, and Abuladze and Tchumbadze represent Georgia. Fisilau could add another England absence if his rise continues.
Then comes the Champions Cup. Exeter have Toulouse away, Connacht and La Rochelle at Sandy Park, then Lions at Ellis Park. That is a dramatic increase from Challenge Cup opposition and will demand more from the strongest 23.
The biggest competitive concern is precision. Last season proved Exeter can rescue matches. Championship teams cannot continually depend on rescue missions. Cards, unstable lineouts or inefficient attacking possessions can erase the advantage created by elite defense.
Exeter Chiefs 2026-27 Outlook
Exeter belong in the playoff conversation, but they should not enter as favorites. Northampton are defending champions, Bath remain a major reference point, and Leicester, Saracens and Bristol help make the top-four race crowded.
A realistic regular-season range is third through sixth, with fourth or fifth the most sensible center. Making the playoffs would confirm Exeter’s resurgence as sustainable. Reaching another final would demonstrate that Baxter’s second championship generation is arriving ahead of schedule. Winning the title is plausible, but it remains an outsider outcome rather than the expectation.
In Europe, reaching the Champions Cup knockout rounds would count as success. A quarterfinal would be excellent given the pool schedule and Exeter’s return from the Challenge Cup.
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Anything around seventh or below would be disappointing unless injuries and international absences become unusually severe. Missing the playoffs narrowly would sting but would not erase the progress if the underlying team remains strong.
The reason for optimism is that Exeter’s best young players have already survived championship-level pressure. The concern is whether the squad around them can absorb a tougher calendar and early transition.
This is no longer a rebuilding team asking for patience. Exeter enter 2026-27 as a hardened, defensively driven contender with modern strike weapons and a young international core.
How far they go will depend on whether they can replace resilience as their emergency response with control as their weekly standard.
Exeter Chiefs 2026-27 PREM And Champions Cup Schedule: Every Match
Gallagher PREM
- Round 1: Exeter Chiefs vs. Gloucester, Sept. 26, 2026
- Round 2: Bath Rugby vs. Exeter Chiefs, Oct. 2, 2026
- Round 3: Bristol Bears vs. Exeter Chiefs, Oct. 10, 2026
- Round 4: Exeter Chiefs vs. Newcastle Red Bulls, Oct. 24, 2026
- Round 5: Exeter Chiefs vs. Sale Sharks, Oct. 31, 2026
- Round 6: Harlequins vs. Exeter Chiefs, Dec. 5, 2026
- Round 7: Exeter Chiefs vs. Saracens, Dec. 19, 2026
- Round 8: Leicester Tigers vs. Exeter Chiefs, Jan. 2, 2027
- Round 9: Exeter Chiefs vs. Northampton Saints, Jan. 23, 2027
- Round 10: Sale Sharks vs. Exeter Chiefs, Jan. 30, 2027
- Round 11: Exeter Chiefs vs. Harlequins, Feb. 20, 2027
- Round 12: Newcastle Red Bulls vs. Exeter Chiefs, Feb. 27, 2027
- Round 13: Exeter Chiefs vs. Bristol Bears, March 20, 2027
- Round 14: Northampton Saints vs. Exeter Chiefs, March 27, 2027
- Round 15: Exeter Chiefs vs. Bath Rugby, April 17, 2027
- Round 16: Saracens vs. Exeter Chiefs, April 24, 2027
- Round 17: Exeter Chiefs vs. Leicester Tigers, May 8, 2027
- Round 18: Gloucester vs. Exeter Chiefs, May 15, 2027
Investec Champions Cup
- Round 1: Toulouse vs. Exeter Chiefs, Oct. 18, 2026
- Round 2: Exeter Chiefs vs. Connacht, Dec. 13, 2026
- Round 3: Exeter Chiefs vs. La Rochelle, Jan. 9, 2027
- Round 4: Lions vs. Exeter Chiefs, Jan. 16, 2027
Exeter Chiefs 2026-27 Frequently Asked Questions
How Can Rugby Fans In The United States Watch Exeter Chiefs On FloRugby?
Rugby fans in the United States can follow Exeter Chiefs during the 2026-27 season on FloRugby, with matches also available to stream through the FloSports app.
What League Do Exeter Chiefs Play In?
Exeter Chiefs play in the Gallagher PREM, the top level of professional club rugby in England.
Where Did Exeter Chiefs Finish In The 2025-26 PREM?
Exeter finished third in the 2025-26 PREM regular season with an 11-1-6 record, 65 table points and a plus-154 points differential. They defeated defending champion Bath 27-26 in the semifinal before losing 26-17 to Northampton Saints in the PREM Final.
Who Is The Exeter Chiefs Director Of Rugby?
Rob Baxter is Exeter Chiefs' director of rugby. Baxter returned to a more hands-on, day-to-day coaching role during the club's rebuild and signed a new long-term contract in April 2026.
Who Is The Exeter Chiefs Captain?
Dafydd Jenkins is Exeter Chiefs' captain. The 23-year-old Wales international lock captained Exeter during its run to the 2026 PREM Final.
Where Do Exeter Chiefs Play Their Home Matches?
Exeter play at Sandy Park in Exeter, Devon. The approximately 15,000-capacity stadium celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026. Exeter went 7-0-2 there during the 2025-26 PREM regular season and outscored league opponents 263-118.
What European Competition Are Exeter Chiefs Playing In?
Exeter are competing in the 2026-27 Investec Champions Cup after reaching the Challenge Cup semifinal in 2025-26. Their Pool 2 opponents include Toulouse, Lions, Saracens, La Rochelle and Connacht.
Did Exeter Chiefs Make The 2026 PREM Playoffs?
Yes. Exeter qualified as the No. 3 seed and went to Bath for the semifinal. The Chiefs recovered from a 26-10 halftime deficit to beat Bath 27-26 before losing 26-17 to Northampton in the final.
Have Exeter Chiefs Ever Won The PREM?
Yes. Exeter won their first English championship in 2017 and won the Premiership again in 2020. The 2020 team also won the Champions Cup to complete a European and domestic double.
Who Are Some Exeter Chiefs Players To Know In 2026-27?
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade, Dafydd Jenkins, Greg Fisilau and Tom Hooper are among Exeter's most important players. Campbell Ridl is another name to know after scoring a club-best 17 tries across all competitions in 2025-26, while Italy lock Andrea Zambonin made the PREM Team of the Season alongside Hooper.
Who Did Exeter Chiefs Sign For 2026-27?
Exeter's additions include Dallas McLeod, Nika Abuladze, Will Butt, Harry Wilson, Sam Wolstenholme, Sam Harris, Jake Murray, Obinna Nkwocha, Archie McArthur and Charlie Poynton. McLeod, an All Blacks-capped Crusaders center, is the headline addition but does not join Exeter until the end of 2026.
Who Left Exeter Chiefs Before The 2026-27 Season?
Exeter confirmed 20 departures. The most consequential include Len Ikitau, Scott Sio, Christ Tshiunza, Rusi Tuima and Will Rigg. Ikitau returned to Australia, Sio joined Cardiff, Tshiunza moved to Sale, and Tuima and Rigg joined Newcastle Red Bulls.
Who Are Exeter Chiefs' Biggest Rivals?
Exeter's most natural rivalries are with fellow West Country clubs Bath, Bristol and Gloucester. Bath carries particular significance entering 2026-27 after Exeter eliminated the defending champions at the Recreation Ground in the 2026 PREM semifinal.