Exeter Chiefs close to revealing new attack and backs coach

Former England fly-half Dave Walder has agreed to become Exeter Chiefs’ new attack and backs coach this summer to work under new head coach Rob Hunter.

The Chiefs are just waiting for Walder, 46, currently England U20s attack coach who was capped four times by the Red Rose, to formally sign his contract before making an announcement.

A former Director of Rugby at Newcastle Falcons, where he had a distinguished playing career, Walder left the Falcons at the end of the 2022/23 season and moved to the West Country to join the Bristol Bears. Walder only lasted one season at the Bears, where he was replaced by Sean Marsden.

Chiefs boss Rob Baxter demoted his close friend Ali Hepher from his job as Chiefs head coach to attack and backs coach two weeks ago, and it soon became clear that Walder would be stepping into his shoes at Sandy Park from this summer.

“We won’t be making an announcement on who it is until they’re happy to make that announcement. We’re pretty much done with the whole process of who the person is going to be,” Baxter said in the same week that the Hepher news was broken.

“With the depth of conversations we’ve had there is an awareness of where we want to head, how we want to play, what we want to do.

“The reality is the person who is coming in has really got to be able to work closely with Rob Hunter. Rob’s going to be in there leading the coaching programme.

“He’s going to talk about how he wants the attack to look, the defence to look, how he wants the forwards to look,” admitted the Chiefs boss.

It’s not the first time that Premiership strugglers Chiefs have wielded the axe on their coaching staff after parting company with defence coach Omar Mouneimne in November and promoting Exeter University boss Haydn Thomas.