Jimmy Roots

Chiefs recruited Jimmy Roots, the younger brother of current Chief and England international Ethan, from RFU Championship side Ealing Trailfinders in the summer of 2024.

After two seasons with the second-tier champions, Jimmy was looking to test himself in a top-flight environment.

Describing the feeling of signing for Chiefs as "pretty daunting as well as exciting" the challenge and step up from the second division was one he was excited for.

The 24-year-old front rower was born and raised in New Zealand before moving to England to pursue his rugby career. The younger Roots’ sporting journey has so far included time spent with Blues U20s, East Coast Bay and North Harbour.

He was signed with North Harbour in the National Provincial Championship before joining Londoners, Ealing in 2021.

While older brother Ethan now has international caps for England, Jimmy has represented his country of birth, New Zealand, at U20s level.

Director of Rugby Rob Baxter described the prop as "very dynamic on the ball, he likes to run into people and hit them hard – so he’s got some really good attributes of what a modern front row forward can be."