Exeter Chiefs second-row Rusi Tuima has committed his future to the club, signing a contract extension to 2026 in another big boost for the club as Rob Baxter rebuilds a potential silverware-winning squad.
Fijian-born Tuima, 23, has had a breakthrough season after successfully transitioning from back row to second row at the outset of the 2023/24 season to become a regular in the side and earn a call-up to play for England A in February putting him well and truly on Steve Borthwick’s radar.
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Chiefs director of rugby Baxter said: “This is great news for us. Rusi is a player who is really starting to breakthrough this year. We’ve known for a long time that he’s had bags and bags of potential, but he’s really taken off this season with us promoting him into the starting line-up in the second row.
“We’ve got to credit Rob Hunter and Ross McMillan for all the work they’ve done with Rusi around playing in his new position as he’s very much become one of our front-line players now.
“I think Rusi is showing an awful lot of qualities of a modern, big, ball-carrying second-row forward and he’s having lots of impact in a very important way for us in a team that is playing very well.
“He’s been rewarded with a recent call-up into the England A team which I think was much deserved. As things stand now, I see him as a young man with a really bright future, so I’m really pleased that he’s committed to the club for the long term. “Hopefully he can be one of those players that helps us move forward and potentially win trophies in the future.”
Winger with a famous surname departs
Winger Frankie Nowell, the brother of Chiefs legend Jack, has left the club with immediate effect to take up a playing opportunity in Australia.
Discussing the departure of twenty-one-year-old Frankie Nowell, who played for Chiefs in the Premiership Rugby Cup match against Bristol Bears in September 2022 as well as featuring in a handful of friendly matches but spent most of his time at the club in Penzance with RFU Championship side Cornish Pirates, Baxter added: “We are really pleased to help Frankie take on this exciting opportunity to play rugby in Australia [in the Shute Shield] will be a great experience for him and it will only help to develop Frankie’s rugby. We wish him the best.”
Rob Baxter looking to make it a brotherly affair
Exeter Chiefs have been linked with signing the younger brother of their England international flanker Ethan Roots.
Tighthead prop Jimmy Roots is a former New Zealand U20s international and has been playing for the last couple of years at RFU Championship leaders Ealing Trailfinders.
Before moving to Ealing, the Kiwi forward represented North Harbour in the Mitre 10 Cup as well as New Zealand’s, Blues U20’s and East Coast Bays in his homeland.
At just 24 years old and weighing in at close to 20 stones the prop fits the bill well for the type of player Chiefs are looking to recruit.
