Whitten hits the dizzy heights with Chiefs
By Mark Stevens
22/4/23
Pound for pound, you would struggle to find a more complete Exeter Chief. A true professional, on and off the field, Ian Whitten deserves a heroic send-off as he prepares to run out at Sandy Park for the last time this afternoon.
Since arriving in 2012 from Ulster, the Lisburn-born back has fully immersed himself into Chiefs life, establishing himself as a firm favourite with team-mates and supporters alike.
Quiet and unassuming, it’s not until you really get to know the 35-year-old that you realise just how determined and driven Whitten is to succeed in everything he does. This week, Chiefs’ Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, described the man as the ‘most professional player’ he had worked with in his whole career.
That’s quite a statement given the names that Baxter has aligned himself with over the many years. However, it’s words that would be fully endorsed by any of those who have walked the corridors of Sandy Park since his arrival eleven years ago.
Like the Chiefs, Whitten has developed year-upon-year. Look at the successful sides of the Premiership era, he has been front and centre in many of those ‘glory days’. Ever-reliable, he’s the on-field warrior that every club side would crave to have by the bucketload.
On what will be his 280th outing for the club today, it’s fitting that he will get the chance to lead the side out, along with fellow retirees Ben Moon and Stuart Hogg, to a packed house here at Sandy Park.
It’s been quite the journey for Whitten, who has collected two Premiership titles, as well as a Heineken Champions Cup crown during his club career to date.The time, however, has come for him to hang up his boots here at the Chiefs and ready himself for life away from Devon.
“I’ve had a great time and got to play with and meet lots of great people,” he says. “I’m also really gratefiul to Rob, Ali and the staff who have perservered with me for so long and allowed me to be part of something special. The craic we’ve had over the years, it’s been flipping amazing, as has enjoying a lot of it with the fans as well.”
Whitten is one of a number of experienced stars who will depart Sandy Park at the end of this season. However, he insists he leaves with nothing but a heap of happy memories.
“I’ve been fortunate to be part of some amazing groups of people here,” added Whitten. “Initially there were a lot of the old heads from the Championship days and they got you initiated into the team pretty quickly. There were some big characters at that time, but we enjoyed our rugby and we enjoyed the off field living as well.
“Chuds [Will Chudley] was brilliant. He joined at the same time as me and we lived together for a while; Steeno was great as well because I could talk Northern Ireland with him. That said, he didn’t really protect that much, I just had to follow his lead.”
Over the years, though, Whitten established himself as a key component in the Chiefs make-up, helping drive standards and creating a culture that still exists these days.
“When I joined it was a good team, I think we finished fifth the year before, and we played some good rugby. The coaches, though, knew we could be better and part of our problem was we enjoyed ourselves probably too much. It was 2015/16 that they pulled us back a wee bit and told us to take things more seriously. That’s when things really took off and we started winning things!”
Indeed, trophies and success soon flowed and Whitten has been at the heart of things ever since. ‘Mr Reliable’ every week, his void within the Chiefs ranks will certainly be hard to fill.
He will leave, however, a true legend of the club. That’s why his return to competitive action today will ignite a fire within the Chiefs ranks that we all hope will lead to one final glory!