Tributes pour in for 16-season Exeter stalwart

Ricky Pellow will become the fourth coach to depart Exeter Chiefs in less than a year when he calls time on his 16-season stay at Sandy Park this weekend.

The 47-year-old former scrum-half joined the Chiefs coaching staff in 2009 and helped the club to win promotion to the Premiership the following year, where they have remained ever since.

The Chiefs have won two Premiership titles and a Champions Cup during his time there, which comes to an end this Saturday. Exeter’s PREM Cup tie at home to Bristol will be his last game with the club.

Defence coach Omar Mouneimne left in October 2024 while long-serving coaches Ali Hepher and Rob Hunter stepped back from their first team roles towards the end of last season. And now Pellow has decided to stand down, having left a lasting impression on the players he has coached.

“One of the best, I genuinely owe Ricky a lot of my career, he showed me the way from a kid to an adult. Unbelievable coach, even better bloke, terrible ref,” quipped ex-England wing Jack Nowell.

Former fly-half Joe Simmonds added: “I’ve been lucky enough to share so many great memories with Ricky. From growing up in the academy to winning the Premiership and the European Cup, he’s played a huge role in my journey, guiding me in the right direction not just on the field but off it as well. He’s a genuinely great guy and I wish him all the bext in his next chapter.”

Meanwhile, Gareth Steenson, one of the Exeter ‘Originals’, who was with the club throughout their rise from the Championship to the Champions of England, took to LinkedIn to pay tribute to Pellow.

“I want to wish all the best in his final week with Exeter Chiefs to a man who has done so much hard work for so many years and worked with so many great players and brought a lot of young fellas through at Exeter Chiefs,” said the Exeter legend.

“Ricky Pellow it’s been an absolute pleasure to have been coached by you and to have worked alongside you as a coach.”