Rowe hits back at false online claims

By Mark Stevens
13/6/23

Exeter Rugby Club chief executive, Tony Rowe CBE, has today hit back at ‘wide of the mark’ reports on social media regarding the financial stability of the Chiefs.

In a month when the rugby world was shaken by the demise of a third Premiership club in London Irish, Rowe himself insists the Devonians are themselves in a solid position to kick on after three testing years of trading.

“For the last three years, ever since Covid hit, every club has been tested like never before,” said Rowe. “It’s been a real challenge for all of us, not helped by the ongoing situation with the war in Ukraine, and sadly not every club has been able to get through the process as we have seen.

“To lose another club this week underlines just how tough it has been and it’s a trend that needs to be bucked sooner rather than later.

“Thankfully, the club had assets within its business structure that we were able to use to help bring much-needed funds back in to help combat the repayment on loans and address other issues around the finances.

“That effectively helped keep us afloat through some tough trading months, but now as we look to the future we are very confident that next year we will be back in full recovery mode.

“Sandy Park itself is incredibly busy, Sandy Park Hotel is very busy and with crowds starting to come back into stadiums, both for our men’s and women’s teams, as well as the concerts we are holding here this summer, we see a bright and exciting future ahead for the club and for our business as a whole.”

Rowe’s latest comments come in the wake of online remarks made again this past week in which it was claimed Exeter Rugby Club were on ‘shaky foundations’.

“As I said, it’s been a financially challenging time for all of us,” he added. “But what I guess it has shown is just how underfunded the game of rugby itself truly is. That’s something not only clubs have to address moving forward, but it’s also for the likes of Premiership Rugby and those who run the game in this country to really look into.

“We can’t afford to standstill in any shape or form. For the game to grow in the manner we all want, we have to be looking at developing every aspect of it, both on and off the field.”

Building for the future is clearly high on the agenda for the Chiefs, who are currently assembling a glut of the game’s most highly-rated young talent across both of their senior squads.

“Personally, I’m really looking forward to the future,” continued Rowe. “The squads we are assembling for the new season are hugely exciting and clearly with an eye to the long-term future as well. We have never been a club who look for a short-term fix, we’ve always had a vision of where we want to go, how we want to get there and a realistic time frame of how long that will be.

“Our success in recent years has been built around having those solid foundations and that is what we will continue to do as we look to attack next season and beyond.”