Ali Hepher

NAME: Ali Hepher

POSITION: Head Coach

BIRTHPLACE: Ashington

DATE OF BIRTH: 3/10/1974

JOINED CHIEFS: 2009

ABOUT ALI: As a player, Ali Hepher made his name featuring predominantly for Northampton Saints. Having initially played a few games for the U19s, he left the club to go to university in Northumbria.

However, he had only been gone for a few months when he got a call from the Saints. They had a first-team game coming up against Wakefield but had a lot of injuries and needed cover. Hepher duly stepped in to the fold, kicking a 45-metre drop-goal to tie the game and then got a penalty with the last kick to win it.

The Saints board and Ian McGeechan asked Hepher if he would be prepared to travel back on a regular basis, which he did, and it signalled the start of a hugely successful career for him at Franklin’s Gardens.

Winning the 2000 European Cup against Munster was the key highlight during his five-year career with the Midlanders, the same year he was called up by Sir Clive Woodward to be part of the England squad that toured South Africa.

Hepher’s Saints career ended in 2002 when he suffered an ACL injury and he subsequently moved to Bedford Blues as a player-coach, featuring regularly against the Chiefs in the old National League One.

He then started coaching the Northampton academy in 2006 but after three years was keen for a new challenge. He joined the Chiefs that year and quickly had an impact, working alongside Rob Baxter in guiding the Devon club into the Premiership for the first time in the club’s history.

In the years that have followed, Hepher has played an integral part in driving the Chiefs onwards and upwards. In the summer of 2016, he headed up the England Saxons coaching team on their South African tour, before winning the Premiership in the 2016/17 season. In 2017, he took on the new title of Head Coach with the Chiefs.

Under his guidance, the Chiefs have continued to prosper, reaching six successive Premiership Finals, including that of 2020 when they lifted not only English rugby's top prize, but also European Rugby's crown with a famous victory over Racing 92 at Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium.