EXETER’S “Big Chief” is already plotting the club’s next era of dominance, after Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, today put pen to paper on a new multi-year contract with the Gallagher Premiership club.

The 55-year-old spoke of his delight at ensuring his local association with the Chiefs will continue into the foreseeable future.

Central to the rise of the club over the past 16 years, Baxter has led the Devonians to not only a European Champions Cup crown, but two Premiership titles, three domestic cups, as well as a Championship success.

“It’s very exciting, particularly because you can kind of see where we look like we’re potentially heading, both as a team, and as a club. Things are looking very positive for us at the moment.

“The players are a good age range. The majority of them are here next year already, plus I think we brought some good players in who are going to strengthen what we’re doing. We’ve also got a very interesting academy group coming through in the next two or three years that, hopefully, will hold all of that together for us as well.”

As a player, Baxter often led from the front, making over 300 appearances before taking charge of the club in 2009 following the departure of former Director of Rugby, Pete Drewett.

In that time, Baxter has spearheaded a remarkable rise, taking the club from the old Championship to that of both England and European champions.

“You spend a lot of of hours, a lot of days, working in the job,” he explained. “For me, I’ve always really tried to look at it as being a privilege, because the minute you forget that, that is when your kind of getting it wrong.

“It doesn’t mean it can’t be tough at times, both physically and emotionally, but at the same time you’re in a job and in an environment that, for most people, they’ve done purely for fun and they’ve done for the enjoyment of it.

“I think it’s really important everyone remembers that because that allows you to keep getting up every day with an enthusiasm to get on and enjoy what you’re doing.”

Thanks to the backing of the club’s board, headed up by chairman and chief executive, Tony Rowe, Baxter insists the future looks bright with the two of them remaining at the helm.

Indeed, Rowe himself hailed the impact of Baxter, adding: “Rob has been front and centre of the growth of this club having helped build its foundations as a player. He is an Exeter Chiefs man through and through and has led us through some of our most memorable moments.

“He has also built a new coaching team and a young squad that are already keen and able to compete at the top level. It will be exciting to see where he can take them in the next few years.”