Tony Rowe: 'Black Knight Rugby are committed totally to supporting women's rugby'

Exeter Chiefs exec Tony Rowe has stated that the team’s new owners are ‘committed totally’ to supporting the club’s Premiership Women’s Rugby side.

This week Cannae Holdings’ Black Knight Rugby completed a £45m takeover of the Devon club.

Rowe – who funded the club’s rise to top tier men’s rugby, two English league titles and a European crown – will continue in his role as CEO for the next two years.

Cannae Holdings also operate Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, French club FC Lorient and New Zealand’s Auckland FC.

In 2023 the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. Last season AFC Bournemouth qualified for European football for the first time in their 127 year history.

In a press conference shortly after the takeover, Rowe discussed how the arrival of new investors could see the Gallagher Prem runners-up “spend up to the salary cap”. The businessman also confirmed that the club’s PWR team will see a boost.

Semi-finalists this season in PWR, Chiefs are yet to win the English top flight since their introduction to the competition in 2020, although they were runners-up in 2022 and 2023.

“The women’s Premiership is still quite young in English rugby,” said Rowe. “We’re still trying to build a bigger supporter base, so we’re funding a loss.

“But Cannae and Black Knight Rugby are committed totally to supporting women’s rugby, which I think is great.

“There’s some things happening in the background at the moment that will become apparent in the next few days, but we’re really excited.

“This will actually probably enable us to put a bit more money into the ladies’ side, because the reality is when the cake is only so big to cut up, it’s been a challenge.”

Already some of those “things happening in the background” have become a little clearer. The team’s head coach, Steve Salvin, has left Devon to take on a full-time role with Sean Lynn’s Wales as forwards coach.

Salvin was an assistant under Susie Appleby for four years before he took on the top job.

In his sole season at the helm, the former Rotherham Titans, Yorkshire Carnegie and Worcester Warriors coach took the side back to knockout rugby after a season’s absence.