'Closing in on half a million pound at least to do a brand change'
Exeter owner Tony Rowe has revealed it will cost the club around £500,000 to undergo the brand change of its existing Chiefs logo at the end of this season. The Chiefs have been under pressure in recent years to stop using their current imagery due to its depiction of a Native American Indian and having researched the issue, they have now adopted a new theme that will come into effect on July 1.
The Gallagher Premiership club will rebrand themselves in line with the Celtic Iron Age Dumnonii Tribe, which encompassed an area covering Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset for centuries before the Roman occupation from 43AD, and will also retain the ‘Chiefs’ name.
Rebranding will be a costly exercise for Exeter, however. “I’m guessing at the moment because we still haven’t had all the stuff back, but it is going to be closing on half a million pound at least to do a brand change,” explained long-time club owner Rowe, whose Exeter supporters have even been requested at some away games in the 2021/22 season not to wear Native American headdress.
“We have had to struggle in the last couple of years with covid and to get the money to keep us alive and to keep us here. So it is going to be a big challenge (with rebranding) but we like big challenges at Exeter rugby so we will do it. It won’t be overnight, we will gradually phase out the old image and bring the new imaging in.
“We have looked into it to try and make sure that the branding that we adopt now is truly a Devon and Exeter branding. What we don’t want is to find ourselves in the situation we are in now, being accused of the appropriation of somebody else’s image and whatever. It was important that we put a lot of research work in before we made a decision.
“We have come up with an image that we believe portrays a Devon Chieftan from that (pre-Roman) era and that will take effect from July 1, which is our new year, new season. We will introduce the branding on all our shirts and various Exeter-related Chiefs memorabilia, clothing and anything to do with us.”
Rowe felt it was the right time to change even though there was public support telling Exeter not to change. “Two years ago there was a petition, about 7,000 people saying you should change your logo and we also had a petition that raised nearly 10,000 saying don’t change,” he explained.
“It’s where you sit but the board decided the time was right to change. The title ‘Chiefs’ for the first team of a rugby club has been used in Devon rugby clubs for well over 100 years and we decided back in ’98 we didn’t want to be called Exeter Rugby Club, we wanted to be called something else so we decided to call ourselves Exeter Chiefs and asked a commercial artist to produce a logo.
“They came up with an Indian chief’s head, but we have decided the time is right to move on and change and so we have done a lot of research and discovered why for over a century rugby clubs have called their first teams ‘Chiefs’.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments