Wolstenholme signs for Chiefs from West Country rivals

Exeter Chiefs have signed Bristol Bears scrum-half Sam Wolstenholme for the 2026/27 season.

The 26-year-old has made more than 20 Gallagher PREM appearances in spells with Bears, Leicester Tigers and Wasps.

Wolstenholme said: “I’m really excited to be joining Exeter Chiefs. The club has a strong culture and identity, which really stood out to me when speaking with the coaches. There’s a clear style of rugby here and a history of success, so it felt like a great environment for me to come into and keep developing my game.

“I’m looking forward to working hard, learning from the players and staff around me, and doing everything I can to contribute to the team’s success.”

Born in Sheffield, Wolstenholme is a graduate of the acclaimed Loughborough University where he studied while playing for the Yorkshire Rugby Academy. His senior career began with Hull Ioanians and Yorkshire Carnegie.

Wolstenholme’s performances for the former Championship side caught the attention of Wasps, who gave the youngster a senior contract ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Following the sad demise of the PREM side, Wolstenholme signed a short-term deal with Tigers before earning a full-time contract with Bears in preparation for the 2023/24 season.

At Bristol, Wolstenholme has competed for the nine shirt with Kieran Marmion and England international Harry Randall, so will relish the competition for selection in Chiefs colours.

Chiefs’ director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “Sam is a player we’re really pleased to be bringing on board at Chiefs. I’ve actually looked at him several times over the years, and I’ve always thought he’s a very good player.

“He’s a guy who knows the importance of his basic fundamentals but also is very aligned on how a team wants to play, driving a team to make sure they’re playing in the right areas of the field and following game plans.

“Dave Walder obviously knows him very well from working with him at Bristol, so speaks very highly of his character and that really shone through when we met with him.

“I think he’s another important addition to the quality of the group that we’re going to try to build and try to keep moving forward in a positive manner over the coming years following some of the successes we’ve had this season.”