Brendan Gallagher

Brendan Gallagher: Exeter Chiefs’ revival an example to us all

Brendan Gallagher examines Exeter Chiefs’ remarkable revival and asks why Test coaches so often insist successful rebuilds must take years.

by
Brendan Gallagher
21 June 2026

Exeter Chiefs’ remarkable revival this season sparked an interesting debate, namely why do Test coaches always claim they need so long to rebuild and reboot teams?
With Exeter the revival was almost instantaneous.
Some might say that when you are earning £600k-plus coaching a big Test team you probably want that lucrative employment to last as long as possible by buying as much time as you can... but I couldn’t possibly comment.
Stuart Lancaster wanted a long run when taking over England in 2012 and argued he should be judged on the 2019 World Cup not 2015, and Steve Borthwick has always t...

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