Whitehead's joy at new deal

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs hooker Chris Whitehead admits it is a "dream come true" for him to sign a new two-year contract with the ambitious Aviva Premiership club.

The talented forward was snapped up by head coach Rob Baxter from London Wasps during the summer of 2010 after he impressed the Exeter leader during a loan spell at London Welsh in the Championship.

Since arriving at Sandy Park, the 26-year-old has settled in well to life in Devon and has gone on to feature 50 times for the Chiefs since making his debut in the Amlin Challenge Cup tie away to Bourgoin in October 2010.

But with his existing contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign, Baxter has wasted little time in making sure Whitehead and fellow front-row forward Luke Cowan-Dickie are on board for the foreseeable future.

"It's a dream come true to sign for another years," admitted Derby-born Whitehead. "Rugby can sometimes be a short career for players, so it's great to be here for another two years. Exeter is such a nice place to be, it’s a great club to be involved in, and when you see what is happening here, we are definitely looking to go places and it will be great to be part of all of that."

But whilst Whitehead's immediate future is now sorted, the player himself knows that the hard work will continue apace as the battle for the prized number two jersey intensifies with the likes of Simon Alcott, Neil Clark and Jack Yeandle.

He added: "When I first joined I signed a one-year deal and I had to work very hard, especially as Si and Clarky were the regulars at the time. Now, I feel a lot more settled within the club, but that doesn't mean I have to stop working hard. This club is all about working hard and giving everything, which I feel I have done ever since I arrived.

"Thankfully Rob has rewarded my efforts with another two years and that means an awful lot to me. Personally I didn't want to go anywhere else, myself and the missus are very settled, it's such a professional club and the environment is fantastic. As a player you have everything you want, a great coaching set-up, great gym, great conditioners, and the whole structure is really sound and suits me down to the ground.

"As well as those things, the support we get from the fans is just amazing. In the city people recognise you and they want to help you out with things - and sometimes that goes a long way in your decision-making. Exeter is a real family club with some great people working here, not just in the coaching structure, but around the whole place and that is another reason why they've done so well in recent years."

And with the club recently announcing plans to redevelop Sandy Park and the team itself keen to maintain its place among English rugby's elite, Whitehead is excited about what lies ahead for the Westcountry outfit.

"You can see the club have worked incredibly hard over the last 10 years to be in the position they are now," he continued. "It's not something which has happened by fluke, it's been well thought out and done at the right time. Even now they are still thriving to be one of the top Premiership and European clubs, so as an ambitious player it will be great to be part of that because I genuinely believe we're not too far away from achieving that."