THE GODFATHER and Lord of the Rings are two that spring to mind. But if Exeter Chiefs are to find their feet next season, then Rob Baxter and Co will be starring in their very own successful trilogy.
Ben Moon’s retirement at the end of this year means the last ‘original’ has finished playing for the club. The prop was part of the class of 2010 that took Chiefs to the promised land of the Premiership on a famous night in Bristol.
If that was the first instalment of the Devon dynasty then the next generation saw the rise of the likes of Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Henry Slade, Dave Ewers and Sam and Joe Simmonds.
Together they went from academy pals to Premiership and European champs, many representing England and even the British & Irish Lions with aplomb.
And while Slade remains at Sandy Park, very few others do amid the large constraints of the salary cap. Ulsterman Ian Whitten, often lauded as Baxter’s best pound-for-pound signing, arrived
