Chiefs U18s Prepping for Academy Finals Day

Exeter Chiefs Academy U18s squad will compete in the third and fourth place clash on Academy Finals Day this Sunday at Kingsholm.

The finals appearance is the culmination of a season of development, commitment and hard work from players, coaches and support staff.

The squad will play Sale Sharks U18s on Sunday and Head coach Marek Churcher says the coaching team expect more of the best from their young team.

“We are expecting the lads to continue the levels of performance this year before they move onto new chapters of their rugby careers.”

The year began with a three-day residential in summer 2023 and the squad played their first league match at Truro College against Saracens in August.

However, the real preparation for such a successful season began three years ago with players coming through the Academy DPP programme.

Churcher praised the players’ parents who travel the length and breadth of the region to get their sons to training and games.

“With such a big geographical region and early starts, players regularly leave home a 4:30 – 5am to get to training and games on time. This group has shown how much they care for each other and with such a large group, and with some not getting selected, the enthusiasm has never dropped, and we cannot thank everyone involved enough.”

The U18s game against Sale will be livestreamed on YouTube and can be accessed here ahead of the 17:50 kick off on Sunday.