Stu Townsend to leave Exeter after agreeing terms with rival Prem club

Harlequins have agreed terms with Exeter Chiefs’ long-serving scrum-half Stu Townsend, who will move to the capital when his contract runs out at the end of the season.

Townsend, who joined the Chiefs in 2012, was having talks with Rob Baxter about staying at Sandy Park, but would have found himself dropping down the pecking order with new players in his position arriving at the club next season.

The Premiership’s crisis club have signed Italian international Stephen Varney, who has spent this season playing in the Top 14 with Vannes and will link up with his former Gloucester team-mate Charlie Chapman.

Torbay-born Townsend, 29, who got engaged to former Irish captain Nichola Fryday last summer, came off the bench when Harlequins beat the Chiefs in the 2021 Premiership final at Twickenham.

He has made 18 appearances for the Chiefs this season, the first coming in the 19-36 defeat the Chiefs suffered against Quins at Sandy Park at the end of October.

A member of the Exeter squad that lost the Premiership Cup final against Bath last month, Townsend has made 119 appearances for the Chiefs all told and will add competition to Will Porter and Danny Care at the Twickenham Stoop next season.

Care, 38, who is closing in on 400 appearances for Quins, confirmed earlier this year that he would be playing for another season when he told the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

“I will be at Harlequins next season; I ain’t leaving – I love it too much, I can’t give it up yet. Hopefully, a few Quins fans will be happy with that,” he said.

Citing the 34-34 draw in The Big Game against Leicester, Care added: “That game probably reminded me again just how lucky I am, how fortunate to still play this game we love and to still play for the club that I love. I’m not going to give it up while I enjoy it.”