New Exeter Chiefs owners '100 per cent' want to invest in women's rugby

Cannae Holdings CEO, Ryan Caswell, has maintained that women’s rugby is a major part of the new Exeter Chiefs owners plans at Sandy Park.

In an update posted on the club’s website, Caswell laid out Exeter’s ambition and how they hope to emulate the success of the group’s other sporting teams, which includes Premier League club AFC Bournemouth.

AFC Bournemouth have enjoyed their highest-ever finish in the English top flight with Cannae as owners, while their women’s team have gained back-to-back promotions to the Women’s National League Southern Premier Division after their investment has increased.

Last season in JAECOO Premiership Women’s Rugby, Chiefs placed third in the league before they lost to Saracens at the play-off stage. The men’s team enjoyed a season of resurgence and ended the campaign as Gallagher PREM runners-up.

Caswell said: “Our ambition is to continue to move the team up. We think women’s sports are a huge opportunity. I think women’s rugby is a significant opportunity. There are many great players here and we 100 per cent want to invest in the women’s game in addition to the men’s game. I think it’s a really exciting time for women’s rugby.”

Exeter’s PWR team are currently without a head coach after the departure of Steve Salvin. Having spent the Guinness Women’s Six Nations with Wales on a temporary basis, he has joined Sean Lynn’s squad full-time as their forwards coach. Former Leicester Tigers head coach Ross Bundy has joined Chiefs as an assistant coach.

Caswell said: “We have ambition. We have a track record of success with Bournemouth and Bill Foley’s Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL. We also have views of what creates success while very much appreciating that this is a different sport with a different community and a different fan base.

“We want to be very respectful of that while at the same time trying to find ways where we can add value and achieve the ambition of the club. We’ve looked at many different sports but rugby is a game with an incredible history, and it is very entertaining. We think there is upside in the US and globally. There’s a great fan base around rugby which is exciting to us.”