University Pathway Attracting Talent to the Chiefs

The recruitment drive at Sandy Park continues in earnest with Kate Smith, formerly of DMP Sharks, joining the Exeter Chiefs ahead of the 23/24 season.

The 21-year-old Second Row will be the latest in long line of players benefiting from the burgeoning pathway between the Exeter Chiefs and the University of Exeter, and under the tutelage of Chiefs captain and University Head Coach Poppy Leitch, Smith will be in very capable hands.

“I was looking around at different programs across the UK, looking for somewhere where I can tie in my academics with playing at a high level and obviously the Exeter Chiefs are an incredible team who have done very well, but the way they work with the University of Exeter is at a completely different standard from anywhere else.

I like how there is so much crossover between playing at the University and here at the Chiefs, they use a similar move patterns so it’s all very transferable.”

Smith, who completed her undergraduate degree at Northumbria University, will now combine playing at the Chiefs with a master’s degree in geography at the University of Exeter.

It’s a big move for the youngster, leaving her home in the North-East, to challenge herself in one of the best rugby environments in the country.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, I knew it was going to be more extreme than I was used to with the full days (of training), and so far it has been very intense, very challenging but it’s really rewarding at the end of it.”

Despite the infancy of the programme, one of the key focus points for Susie Appleby has been establishing a development pathway in the South-West to produce the next generation of talent, and the University of Exeter has been key to that process.

“The quality of the BUCS league is rapidly improving year on year, and we’ve seen players making the step up from the University game into our senior ranks without missing a beat. Take a look at the likes of Katie Buchanan or Maisy Allen, who have moved through our pathway and are now both on England development contracts in such a short space of time.

We’ve seen real potential in Kate, and in the few weeks that she has been training with us I have been really impressed with the improvements she is already making. She’s a skillful player who has all the attributes to make it to the very top of the sport and hopefully with regular game time between the Chiefs and University squads, as well as time training in our environment, she can continue that development.”

For Smith, it isn’t her first time playing in front of the Chiefs Family, having previously run out at Sandy Park in DMP colours.

“It’s an intense stadium to play at, with DMP we never used to get massive crowds but when we came here there were over 1000 people in the stadium for just a normal league match and we couldn’t get over it. I’m so excited to get out in front of a big crowd here in a Chiefs jersey.”