Stef Evans heads to the South West

Formerly of Leicester Tigers Women, Worcester Warriors and Bristol Bears, the Canadian began playing rugby at high school in Regina, Saskatchewan.

An entrepreneur, who founded her own retail business selling rugby kit to fit women, Evans also featured in the Amazon 2021 documentary No Woman No Try about women’s rugby and spearheaded the #ICARE campaign to encourage people to show their support for the sport.

Evans said: “From across the pitch, I’ve had a front row seat to see what Exeter have been building since they entered the Premiership and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen.

“Success in this league is not easy. The consistent growth the club has produced is huge testament to the entire machine and something to be truly proud of. I think a lot of that success comes from investing in the right things, by constantly building and improving both on and off the pitch. The way that Chiefs view their player pathway, in particular, and their dedication to player development is hugely important to me and something I am very passionate about, as a player and a coach. It’s easy to want to be on a team where you feel like you have those shared core values, that shared desire to work hard, and same respect for the game and for its future.

“Chiefs are a team that are constantly striving to improve, a team that never settles, and they plat some truly exciting, outside the box rugby. I think that’s why Exeter has the incredible fan buy-in that they do because there’s so much respect and so much to enjoy and that’s what it’s really about it, isn’t it?

“Rugby should be exciting; it should make you feel alive, and the Exeter style of play does exactly that. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and working hard for the girls – and very excited to experience how magic Sandy Park as a home pitch!”

Head coach Susie Appleby said: “Stef is a very experienced player who can play at loosehead and tighthead. Another player temporarily left behind by the sad demise of Warriors, she was lucky to find support from Tigers and we will continue that support at Chiefs. She is also a true ambassador for women’s rugby, and she will lend her support coaching our pathway players at Exeter College. Really looking forward to having her with us at Chiefs."