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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Robert Kitson

Inside the Exeter meltdown: Rowe’s revival plan not for the faint-hearted

Rob Baxter Rob Hunter Exeter Tony Rowe Gloucester Ali Hepher Chiefs Covid-19
Henry Slade (second right) and his shell-shocked Exeter teammates come to terms with shipping 79 points a Kingsholm.
Henry Slade (second right) and his shell-shocked Exeter teammates come to terms with shipping 79 points against Gloucester. Photograph: Simon King/ProSports/Shutterstock

How swiftly the sporting wheel can turn. Less than five years ago Exeter were the Double-winning darlings of English club rugby, their fairytale rise ranking alongside Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang as the most romantic success stories in British team sport.

And now? Second bottom of the Premiership table, 79 points conceded at Gloucester last time out, coaches being summarily jettisoned, the chairman storming into the dressing room. The one thing everyone in Devon can agree on is that the season’s end cannot come quickly enough.

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