Exeter Chiefs duo pen contract extensions

Exeter Chiefs have announced that scrum-half duo Stuart Townsend and Jack Maunder have penned contract extensions with the Premiership outfit.

Townsend has committed his future to the club until at the least the summer of 2021 with a new two-year deal, while Maunder, has also penned a fresh one-year contract with the club.

The decision by the duo is yet more welcome news for director of rugby Rob Baxter, who believes the two youngsters will continue to have important roles to play for the Devonians moving forward.

“Stu has started a Premiership-winning final and Jack has played a lot of first-team rugby and been on an England tour already, and it is incredible what they have already achieved at a young age, but in the right way as well, because they have worked hard, and people are aware that if you work hard and play well, we don’t tend to have a big hang-up about how old you are or how experienced you are,” said Baxter.

“When you think about it, they have pretty much played all of their rugby while Exeter have been a top-four side, which is a great credit to them and probably to how well they have fitted in and how hard they have worked to be good players.”

Both players were first given their chance when Exeter suffered a scrum-half injury crisis in the 2016/17 season, when both Will Chudley and Dave Lewis were both sidelined through injury.

“Rather than us go out for injury dispensation players, we had seen them training and playing at their loan clubs and they gave us the confidence that these were the next guys who could step up and they would do a better job for us than us bringing players in, and that is great credit to them, they work hard and showed us we should have confidence in them, and then they thrived under that opportunity to play senior rugby and they have become key members of the squad,” added Baxter.

“They are kind of what it is all about, taking opportunities while you are here as a young player, and impressing people with your attitude. You get your first foot through the door as a first-team player with the attitude you show when you are 15 or 16, it is not something that just happens when you turn 19 or 20.

“These guys were catching our eye then with the kind of people they were, and how hard they were prepared to work, and the kind of players they could potentially be, and that’s the first step really, and they have thrived from then.

“They have had their ups and downs but they have kept persevering and moving forward. They have both had some injury issues, but you will do as a young man in a really competitive position, where you do a lot of running and get through a lot of hard work, because we keep the ball on the field longer than anybody else, and that’s more taxing on scrum-halves than any other position on the field, and both those lads have really thrived in that situation.”