On the other side of the Irish Channel, not far from Kilkenny, Tony Rowe was peeping the horn of his 1939 Ford Coupe in celebration.
Exeter’s owner missed Sunday’s pivotal 35-12 victory over Bath because he is on a classic car rally through Ireland, but he pulled over in his V8 motor and called coach Rob Baxter to offer his congratulations.
Days after a vote was approved to sell Rowe’s club to American billionaires, his team delivered their best performance of the season.
They punished an ill-disciplined Bath outfit, who lost lock Quinn Roux to a 20-minute red card, and secured a bonus-point victory that leaves six teams jostling for a place in the top four.
Performances like this prove that Exeter’s prospective new owners – who also own AFC Bournemouth – do not need to come in and heavy-handedly overhaul Baxter’s squad.
The departure of Wallaby centre Len Ikitau, who was influential once again, is the only glaring mark on this summer’s ins-and-out list at Sandy Park.
Campbell Ridl touches down during Exeter’s impressive 35-12 victory over Bath on Sunday
There should be more good times in the offing for Chiefs, who are set to be taken over by wealthy American owners
‘Some people are thinking there’s investment so there will be immediate change,’ said Baxter, whose young squad have performed above expectations this season.
‘We’ve already planned where our spending is this summer. We’ve moved to a certain level of salary cap where we’re not just holding back a big pot of money for one player. I know where we can invest to significantly improve things – and we look pretty good now.’
Exeter battled against the wind in the second half to secure their first win over Bath since 2022.
Prop Josh Iosefa-Scott was influential with his carrying, delivering the sort of value that the club’s new owners will hope to see in years to come.
‘Newcastle will understand that when you get significant investment it takes a while for that to come through,’ added Baxter, who will be at the heart of the club’s long-term strategy.
‘I’d 100 per cent like to invest in the academy because we’ve kept that, not on a shoestring, but at a level that’s ticking over. We haven’t relaid the pitch for a while, we can renew around the gym and medical area, we’ve got a sports science area that we can multiply.
‘There’s so much we can do before we talk about salary cap and redeveloping the ground to a 20,000 seat stadium. A really well-funded academy takes a couple of years to bring players through.
‘If we have significant investment, the future over the next three or four years will be fantastically bright,’ says Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter
‘If we have significant investment, the future over the next three or four years will be fantastically bright because I know where we need to invest.’
For now, focus is on the play-offs.
Seven days ago, Bath flew out of Bordeaux cursing the lack of intervention from the video referee, who missed a trio of high shots on Alfie Barbeary.
There were no French TV directors to blame for this one. Bath conceded a handful of penalties in the opening quarter that allowed Exeter to cruise to a 13-0 lead.
Bath lacked accuracy in the second half, losing lineouts and turning over possession. With the game in the balance, Finn Russell’s attacking chip was picked off by Ollie Woodburn, before Tom de Glanville was sin-binned for a yellow card.
Exeter kept the ball on the pitch and kept hold of possession, preventing Bath from controlling the tempo of the game.
Second-half tries from Paul Brown-Bampoe, Ikitau and the sin-binned Campbell Ridl inflicted Bath to their biggest defeat of the season so far.
‘Never too high, never too low,’ was the response of Bath director Johann van Graan, whose team now face a battle with Leicester to secure a valuable home play-off.
Chiefs prop Josh Iosefa-Scott charges upfield – the 29-year-old delivered the sort of value that the club’s new owners will hope to see in years to come
Rowe and Baxter, however, will very much toast these high points of an historic week for the club.
‘In the context of the season and the last three or four weeks, it’s huge,’ said Baxter, holding a bottle of Moretti after the match.
‘A poor result would’ve felt like the season was petering out a little bit but this has flipped that on its head. We’ve kept ourselves well in the top four. Who knows, we might go into that last round with a winner takes all. If we keep winning we might move beyond fourth.’
Rowe was unable to find anywhere showing the game in Kilkenny, although you suspect this is one he will want to watch on catch-up.
