Exeter Chiefs enter 2026-27 with a question they have not faced since their championship years: what happens after everyone starts expecting them to win again?
A year after finishing ninth, Exeter went 11-1-6, finished third in the PREM, beat defending champion Bath away in the semifinal and reached the final, where Northampton won 26-17. They also reached the PREM Rugby Cup final and Challenge Cup semifinal.
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That transformed Rob Baxter’s rebuild from a patient development project into a genuine contender.
Now the Chiefs must prove the breakthrough is sustainable while replacing important starters, returning to the Champions Cup and managing a young core increasingly coveted by international teams. These are the five stories that will determine whether Exeter’s revival becomes something bigger.
Was 2025-26 The Birth Of Baxter’s Next Championship Team?
Everything starts here.
Exeter did not sneak into the playoffs during a favorable run. They finished third with 65 points, conceded a league-low 367 and collected at least one table point from every regular-season match. They beat Leicester twice, Saracens twice and Bath once before going to the Recreation Ground and eliminating the defending champions 27-26.
More importantly, much of that success came from players who should remain central for years.
Captain Dafydd Jenkins and No. 8 Greg Fisilau are 23. Tom Hooper is 25. Andrea Zambonin is 25. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is already an established England weapon in his early 20s. Campbell Ridl and Kane James are 21.
That makes 2026-27 a season of confirmation. Exeter are no longer asking whether those players can handle high-level PREM rugby. They are asking whether the group can repeatedly produce championship-level results after opponents have studied them and expectations have changed.
Another playoff run would suggest Baxter has built the framework of his second great Exeter generation. Regression toward midtable would make last season look more like extraordinary overachievement.
Can Exeter Replace Len Ikitau Before Dallas McLeod Arrives?
Exeter’s biggest offseason problem comes with a delayed solution.
Len Ikitau became the first-choice inside center during the run to the PREM final, forming a high-level international midfield with Henry Slade. He returned to Australia after the season, while powerful center Will Rigg also departed.
Exeter recruited Dallas McLeod with those losses specifically in mind. The 27-year-old, All Blacks-capped Crusaders center signed a three-year deal and projects as a starter at 12 or 13.
But McLeod does not arrive until the end of 2026.
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That makes Will Butt immediately important. The former Bath center-wing brings size, defense, carrying and kick-chase ability and gives Exeter a logical early-season option at 12 beside Slade.
The question is whether that bridge holds. Exeter were roughly unchanged in top-end roster quality after recruitment, but temporarily weaker because their premium Ikitau replacement arrives late. If the midfield loses cohesion or attacking efficiency before McLeod arrives, valuable early PREM points could disappear.
International Success Could Become Exeter’s Depth Problem
One of the best signs of Exeter’s rebuild is also becoming one of its biggest complications.
Feyi-Waboso and Slade are established England figures. Jenkins is an established Wales international, while James debuted for Wales in 2026. Stephen Varney, Ross Vintcent and Zambonin are Italy internationals. Hooper is an active Wallaby. Nika Abuladze and Bachuki Tchumbadze represent Georgia. Fisilau has entered England’s senior-selection picture.
That is remarkable growth for a squad recently defined by youth and rebuilding.
It also means Baxter could periodically lose important players across virtually every unit.
Exeter have recruited depth accordingly, adding Harry Wilson, Sam Wolstenholme, Archie McArthur, Obinna Nkwocha and others. But the concern is magnified by injuries: Zambonin is expected to miss the opening months after shoulder surgery, while Paul Brown-Bampoe is unavailable initially.
The test is whether Exeter’s next layer is ready. International recognition proves the first layer worked. Surviving without it could decide the playoff race.
Can Exeter Turn Resilience Into Control?
Exeter’s defining 2025-26 skill was refusing to die.
They trailed Northampton 33-7 at halftime in the season opener and drew 33-33. They went 26-10 down at halftime of the playoff semifinal at Bath and won 27-26, surviving more than 40 phases after time expired.
Baxter eventually described his team as “ultra-competitive,” and the statistics supported him: Exeter earned at least one league point in every regular-season game.
But championship teams cannot continually depend on escape acts.
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Discipline hurt Exeter against Stade Français and Northampton. Lineout execution deteriorated in the Challenge Cup semifinal against Ulster and again in the PREM final. The attack was productive, but Exeter’s league standing was more remarkable defensively than offensively.
Dave Walder’s evolving attack gives Feyi-Waboso, Ridl and the other backs greater license to punish broken fields while retaining traditional Chiefs foundations of scrum pressure, physical carrying and maul threat.
The next step is precision. If Exeter can control more matches instead of repeatedly rescuing them, their ceiling changes from playoff contender to champion.
Is Exeter Ready For Europe’s Top Table Again?
Last season Exeter reached the Challenge Cup semifinal. Their reward for domestic improvement is considerably harder.
The Chiefs return to the Champions Cup with a schedule featuring Toulouse away, Connacht and La Rochelle at Sandy Park, then the Lions at Ellis Park.
It is a major examination of how far this new generation has progressed.
Toulouse arrives early enough that McLeod will not yet be an Exeter player and Zambonin is expected to remain unavailable. The two Sandy Park fixtures therefore become especially important if Exeter want to reach the knockout rounds.
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The European challenge also intersects with the domestic one. Exeter reached three knockout stages last season, proving the squad could handle multiple competitions, but Champions Cup opposition places far greater pressure on first-choice players.
Reaching the round of 16 would represent a successful return. A quarterfinal would be a major statement.
For Exeter, Europe is more than another competition. It is the measuring stick for the entire rebuild. Two years after finishing ninth domestically, Baxter’s new Chiefs are about to discover how close they really are to rugby’s elite.
Exeter Chiefs 2026-27 Frequently Asked Questions
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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