Cordero earns contract extension after impressing the boss
Los Pumas back Facundo Cordero has agreed a contract extension with the reigning English and European champions, Exeter Chiefs.
The 22-year-old joined the Chiefs in the summer of 2020, following in the footsteps of older brother Santiago, who enjoyed two highly successful seasons at Sandy Park, scoring 10 tries in 33 appearances.
Cordero – who can play at full-back or on the wing – made his debut for the Chiefs in last season’s Gallagher Premiership game away to Saracens.
Since then, he has featured 11 times for Baxter’s side, scoring two tries – the pick of which was his sublime solo effort in the game away to Sale Sharks back in February.
“He has been fantastic, hasn’t he? He came over on a bit of an opportunity contract for what was remaining of last season and this,” said Exeter Chiefs Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter. “Obviously, we had managed to look at a fair bit of footage of him playing over in Argentina and you could see his stepping his ability and that he was brave defensively.
“Since he has come here, he’s certainly shown that fantastic stepping ability; he’s certainly shown he is brave defensively and he’s slowly getting fit, which is a real plus!
“Anyone who has watched our games will see that once he’s had to sprint the length of the field a couple of times in some kick battle chases, there is a little bit of a blow that goes on, but he’s working very hard at that and the truth is it looks like he has all the capabilities to be a very good player for us.”
A popular member of the current Chiefs squad, Baxter believes Cordero’s best years are still very much ahead of him and he hopes this new deal will help bring the best out of the fleet-footed flyer.
He added: “He’s a bit like Santi in that he has that top-end winger pace that you see in some guys, where they just stay on the wing and zoom around the outside. But, ironically, he is a lot quicker than you think and he has that ability to beat people in a small space and come through tackles is fantastic.
“I think sometimes that is a bigger quality to have in your team than out and out pace, it’s someone who can get you over the gain-line is absolutely invaluable and that’s definitely his speciality. His high ball skills are improving all the time – and that’s massively important for a player who plays full-back or wing – and defensively he looks very sound.
“He has already come up with some fantastic defensive moments for us already, so I am really excited about the deal because I think he will feature strongly for us, not just for the remainder of this season, but the next couple of the seasons.”
With much the current Chiefs squad tied down for the foreseeable future, Baxter is confident that the Devonians will continue to push forward on all fronts.
“I think if you see someone who has the qualities worth having a look at – and they prove them to you, like Facu has done – then the first thing you want to do is make sure you can carry on working with those qualities for the next couple of years. That is what we have done.
“As I said, he’s a young man, I kind of think he can only get better – and he’s already pretty good – so that not only bodes well for him, but for as well as moving into the future.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments