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Hidalgo-Clyne is joining his sixth club in two years... and he believes it will be his best move yet

Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

Sam Hidalgo-Clyne’s decision to keep his career ticking over with a series of short-term deals has paid dividends as he has been snapped up on a two-year deal by Rob Baxter’s Exeter. 

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With Nic White’s departure back to Australia already confirmed, the Chiefs boss had been on the look-out for a replacement and that search had ended with the recruitment of Hidalgo-Clyne, the former Scotland international who has been having a transient time in recent years. 

As an Edinburgh player, the scrum-half signed for Scarlets in summer 2018 but that move didn’t end well. Despite making 18 appearances for the Welsh region, he switched to Premiership club Harlequins last March on a loan deal and decided to end his contract with Scarlets by mutual agreement when he returned. 

That freedom then left him free to link up with Racing 92 in the early months of this season after he was initially linked with Toulouse. Covering for the World Cup absence of Max Machenaud, he made six appearances – one start and five as a replacement – for the Parisians before switching to high-flying Lyon after Jean-Marc Doussain was injured.

With a deal now agreed to switch to Devon in the summer, Exeter will be Hidalgo-Clyne’s sixth club in two years but he believes it will be his best move yet. “I’m very excited by the move,” said the half-back, who has 12 Test caps and featured at the 2015 World Cup. 

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“Like a lot of people, I’ve watched how the Chiefs have done and how successful the club have become over the last few years. They are one of the great teams, not just in England, but across Europe, and it will be great to be part of their set-up.

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“Even looking in from the outside, you can see Rob has created a fantastic environment for the players. They play a great brand of rugby, everyone appears to enjoy themselves and they are a team who clearly want to win things. 

“As a player, there are a lot of things that would draw you to them. As I said, it’s a great move for me and my family and I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I chatted in detail with Rob and he outlined how he wants the team to play, the aspirations of the club, and what he would expect from me. I liked what he had to say and in the end, it was a pretty easy decision for me.

“Obviously, they have a quality squad already assembled there and with guys like Jonny (Gray) coming in as well, it’s only going to get better. I’ve played a lot with Jonny, not only as a youngster, but also with him and Stuart (Hogg) at international level, so it will be good to have a few friendly faces on arrival.

“When you look at Exeter as an opponent, they are one of the toughest teams out there,” he continued. “They have strengths all over the pitch and they are a team who like to keep hold of the ball and play for long periods. The way they attack, their defence, their physicality, they have some many areas of their game that are so strong. They rarely have off days!

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“Alongside all of that, the support they get down at Sandy Park is incredible. I remember it was not only pretty noisy, but it was probably one of the windiest days ever for me on a rugby pitch. It’s a great place to go and play, though, and as I said at the outset, I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

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IkeaBoy 6 minutes ago
Crusaders outlast fast starting Blues to reach another Super Rugby final

Very considered stuff, JW!


What I think is slippery is that they are essentially red carding based on ‘intent’ which was never really the case. It’s a tough ask to expect a ref to essentially physiologically profile a player, in-game. It should be a minimum at any level of rugby that a player wouldn’t deliberately be reckless or aim for a high degree of danger. Even with the guidance it’s still very subjective for refs. I’m not even sure if a full red has been dished out at test level since the new 20 min card arrived? It looks like they’ve forgotten they can still dish out a straight red.


WR are focused on sanctioning the dangerous act and dealing with it rather than working on removing the act itself. The big task is to remove the risky play rather than being consistent on carding it. It’s probably a coaching issue really and would take a while to bed in and have to work up from the age groups who are starting the game now.


Aki was a great example though. Short and stocky for a centre but he used to tackle high. He got red carded twice for Ireland but worked on it and I don’t think he’s had a problem since. Club or test level.


I agree with the ABs last couple of seasons. I don’t think they tackled any better or worse they just maybe didn’t keep up to speed with the law changes. I remember with Fozzie in the 2022 series, he didn’t even realise that hooking big Ardie in the second test would be a permanent change!


Verdict is still out on the 20 min reds but maybe it takes the next RWC to see if they are used or abused.

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