Exeter suspend coaches Hunter and Hepher after heavy Gloucester defeat

Exeter’s disastrous season has hit a new low with two coaches, Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher, suspended by the chairman, Tony Rowe, a day after their 79-17 defeat by Gloucester.

Rowe could be seen laying down the law to the squad in the aftermath of Sunday’s capitulation, in which the Chiefs shipped 13 tries, and has acted swiftly with the long-standing director of rugby Rob Baxter stepping into a frontline coaching role until the end of the season.

Hunter was promoted to the role of head coach only last month but described the thrashing by Gloucester as his “worst day as a coach” while Hepher was in charge of the attack. The record defeat by Gloucester was a 12th from 15 Premiership matches for the two-time champions this season, leaving them in ninth spot with only Newcastle below them.

It is hard to see either Hunter or Hepher returning to their roles after a review into the defeat on Sunday, as well as the miserable campaign, has been completed but Rowe said: “No final decision regarding the club’s coaching structure going forward has been made, and it would be improper to make any further comment until all internal procedures have been completed.”

It is less than five years since Exeter completed a league and Champions Cup double but more recently they have been hit by a string of high-profile departures including Jack Nowell, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds. They have also had to contend with a long-term shoulder injury to Immanuel Feyi-Waboso since December but have conceded 50-plus points on five occasions this season, including the 69 scored by Bordeaux and 64 by Toulouse – both times on home turf at Sandy Park.

After the humiliation at the hands of Gloucester, Hunter said: “Aside from how we feel individually, the first thing to recognise is that it was no way acceptable for us to perform like that. There is no hiding away, and we haven’t tried to hide away from that in the changing room.

“Quite clearly, we have gone underneath an avalanche of pressure and intensity from Gloucester and wilted underneath it. It is not a case of back to the drawing board, it is more a case of lessons you feel you are learning, you are not learning.

“We are not going to run away from this, we are going to sit on it all week and we are going to simmer on it until we play our next game. Nobody is looking for an arm around them.”