Chaos behind-the-scenes at Exeter Chiefs as Rob Baxter swings axe

Exeter Chiefs bosses have today held crisis talks following yesterday’s record 79-17 defeat at the hands of Gloucester amid mayhem behind the scenes at Sandy Park.

The former Premiership and European champions have endured their worst-ever campaign since they were promoted to the top flight, and chief executive Tony Rowe was spotted giving the players a verbal dressing-room tongue-lashing.

The Chiefs have also suffered a record European Cup defeat, losing 69-17 to Bordeaux this season, and have tasted defeat in 12 of their 15 Premiership games.

The 13-try humiliation at Kingsholm was 19 points worse than their previous worst — a 55-12 thrashing by Sale Sharks 11 years ago — while the 43-7 half-time deficit was 10 points greater than their previous worst first-half performance.

Speculation is rife that the Chiefs are poised to put head coach Rob Hunter [and Ali Hepher] on gardening leave just four games after he took charge of the side following Hepher’s demotion.

RugbyPass understands that Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter was due to give the pair the bad news during meetings this afternoon and that it might not be the only departure from the club.

Well-placed sources have said that the Chiefs have placed their whole staff on 24-hour notice, that there may be more departures to come, and that Baxter is expected to take charge for the rest of the season.

“Tony is entirely entitled to come in there and fire into everyone. He puts a lot of time and effort into the club, and his expectations, along with everybody else’s expectations, should be way higher than that,” Hunter said on Sunday.

“From my own point of view, it was probably one of my worst days as a coach. In fact, there’s no probably about it, it was actually my worst day as a coach.

“Aside from how we feel individually, the first thing to recognise is that from a supporters’ point of view, it is no way acceptable to perform like that. Nobody involved, whether that’s coaches or players, can hide away from that.”

UPDATE: Exeter Chiefs have released a statement confirming RugbyPass’ story: “Exeter Rugby Club can confirm that following Sunday’s disappointing result against Gloucester Rugby, club Chairman and CEO Tony Rowe CBE, has made the decision to suspend coaches Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher pending a full review of the match and the 2024/25 season to date.

Rowe said: “No final decision regarding the club’s coaching structure going forward has been made, and it would be improper to make any further comment until all internal procedures have been completed.”

“In the interim, Director of Rugby Rob Baxter will step into a front-line coaching role to oversee the remainder of the season.”