Rowe's joy as Chiefs duo are capped

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Rugby Club chief executive Tony Rowe OBE has spoken of his delight after two more of the current Chiefs became the newest additions to the club's international honours board.

Having seen Tom Johnson and Jack Nowell both make the step up to Test level in the past couple of years, it was the turn of academy products Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie to become the latest names to win their first senior caps for England.

Playmaker Slade started last Saturday's 19-14 victory over France at Twickenham, whilst hooker Cowan-Dickie was handed his debut coming off the bench in the second half.

The duo - along with Nowell and fellow Chief Geoff Parling - are all currently part of Stuart Lancaster's training squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup and are hopeful of all being included in his final 31-man mix come the end of the month.

Cornishman Nowell will get the chance to add to his international tally when England face the French in Paris on Saturday, but the other three will all have a watching brief for this latest match-up.

With just one warm-up game to come against Ireland on Saturday week, the Chiefs quartet know the tension is rising as Lancaster's squad announcement looms large on the horizon.

For Rowe, however, the sight of three Chiefs players featuring for England - a first in the club's long and distinguished history - was something to savour and underlines once more the strides the ambitious Devon club have made in such a short space of time.

"Wasn't it terrific to see three Chiefs players included in the England squad last weekend?" said Rowe. "Since our promotion into the Aviva Premiership back in 2010, we've seen more and more of our players make that next step and go on to earn international recognition.

"That recognition and that success is down not only to the great work Rob [Baxter] and his coaching team have put in, but also to the work the team and the individuals themselves have put in. International honours like this are the rewards for hours and hours of hard work, commitment and, of course, talent."

That said, it's the sight of Cowan-Dickie, Nowell (pictured) and Slade - all products of the club's highly successful academy set-up - pulling on the famous Red Rose jersey that particularly pleases Rowe.

"I've talked before about the success stories we are obtaining from our academy programme," added Rowe. "In the past we've seen Jack, Henry and Luke - together with Sam Hill and Joel Conlon - win the Junior World Championships in France. Then, we've had a few of them and Dave Ewers go on to play for the Saxons - and now we've got them playing in a full-on Test match.

"Jack has obviously led the way for these boys in establishing himself within the England set-up and playing in the Six Nations, but there is no reason why the others can't follow. Henry and Luke have now had a taste of Test rugby and I've no doubt we will have a few more of our guys following suit in the future.

"As I said, this kind of success is down to a great number of people working tirelessly within the club. Our academy structure, I know, is revered by a number of our peers across the Premiership and further afield - and I've no doubt that in the coming years we will continue to have even more young players progressing through the international ranks."