Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter certainly has a tough balancing act on his hands to keep his squad intact ahead of the 2023/24 season.
Director fo Rugby Rob Baxter had to let the likes of Jonny Hill, Sam Skinner and Tom O’Flaherty leave the club this summer after being unable to match their wage offers elsewhere due to the reduced £5m salary cap all Premiership clubs are operating under this season.
The potential departure of at least one club stalwart and as many as five next summer means it could be the end of an era at Sandy Park.
#1. Luke Cowan-Dickie
Another player out of contract is hooker Cowan-Dickie.
The forward continues to feature regularly within the England ranks. Since making his Test debut in 2015, he has helped his country to win the Grand Slam in 2016; he was part of Eddie Jones’ squad that got to the final of the Rugby World Cup against South Africa in Japan in 2019 and helped the Red Rose to win the Autumn Nations Cup final against France.
According to The Rugby Paper, ‘he has been speaking to the Top 14 sides Montpellier and Clermont Auvergne, while Bristol Bears have made him an offer,’