Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he doesn’t assume his facet’s id could be misplaced ought to extra of his prime homegrown stars depart the membership in the summertime.
Studies have additionally linked England and British Lions hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie to a transfer to Montpellier whereas fellow academy graduates Jack Nowell and Dave Ewers can even be out of contract.
“I haven’t got a worry concerning the id being misplaced,” Baxter mentioned.
“On the finish of the day individuals assume that our id for a interval round that was about that core group, nevertheless it wasn’t about that core group being from Devon or Cornwall.
“It was nice that they have been from our academy and it was nice that they have been native, however truly it was the individuals they have been that made it work, and that is what we have now to do, we have now to develop into these form of individuals with that form of squad.
“It is extra about what are we in our DNA as gamers and as a membership than it’s the truth that you are native.”
On Cowan-Dickie’s future Baxter mentioned: “What’s left to be carried out is a definitive reply. It is not my place to say now which approach it is going by hook or by crook.”
Close to Ewers and Nowell, Baxter would solely say: “I do not imagine they’ve signed for anybody else, however they have not signed for us.”
‘Issues will change’
Final season Exeter noticed England and British Lions second row Jonny Hill, homegrown Scotland lock Sam Skinner, winger Tom O’Flaherty and again row Will Witty all depart for extra profitable offers elsewhere that the Chiefs couldn’t match.
Nowell, Simmonds, Cowan-Dickie, Henry Slade and Jack Maunder have all come by way of Exeter’s youth system and gone on to win England honours and assist the facet win two home and one European title.
With a decreased wage cap of £5m and only one marquee participant exemption, Premiership groups are discovering it onerous to maintain prime gamers. A richer league in France generally is a huge lure for internationals who’re of their late twenties early thirties after subsequent autumn’s World Cup.
And regardless of Worcester and Wasps being pressured out of the Premiership resulting from monetary points and Exeter having to promote their stake within the lodge they constructed to steadiness their books after the Covid-19 pandemic, Baxter says the way forward for England’s prime division will probably be higher in years to come back.
“Issues will change because the monetary atmosphere adjustments, it all the time has earlier than, I believe we have got to watch out of not getting caught on this actual adverse spiral that we’re all getting in on the minute,” he mentioned.
“Subsequent yr’s the final yr of the £5m cap, after that I might assume the next yr there will be an terrible lot of golf equipment, I do know we’ll be the identical, we are going to spend what we will afford to spend.
“Whether or not that is the total cap and all of the credit and the one marquee participant, or whether or not it is lower than that, that is what we’ll do.
“However we have all the time labored like that anyway, and if the monetary state of affairs adjustments down the road I might think about the cap may go up.
“The cap had been fairly progressive over the past 5 – 6 years, till Covid struck, so it was a progressive system that was going up and it was advancing, so there’s nothing in historical past that claims that would not occur once more as soon as we have develop into extra financially secure.”
