Robert Edward John Baxter (born 10 March 1971) is the Director of Rugby of English Premiership rugby team

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

. He previously played for the club for 14 years, 10 of them as captain. Baxter has also both captained and coached the

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Playing career

As a player Baxter played lock for Exeter Rugby Club for 14 years and served as the club's captain for 10 years.

Coaching career

Following his retirement he moved into coaching the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

side while acting as a forwards coach for the Chiefs. Rob Baxter was appointed to the position of acting coach head coach of Exeter Chiefs following the sacking of former coach Pete Drewett in March 2009. On 7 May 2009 it was announced that Baxter will be taking over the position of Head Coach of the Exeter Chiefs. In Baxter's first season as coach, he led the team to promotion from the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

to the Premiership. Baxter's efforts in establishing Exeter as a strong Premiership side were recognised when he won the 2011/12 Director of the Year award at the Aviva Premiership awards, having also been nominated for the honour the previous season. It was announced on 26 March 2013 that Baxter would join the

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coaching team for the summer tour to

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and

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. In the 2016/2017 season, Baxter led the Exeter Chiefs to win the English Premiership for the first time in their history by beating

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in the final 23-20. In the 2019/2020 season, Baxter led the

to win the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

for the first time, beating

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

at Ashton Gate, Bristol in the final 31-27. Just one week later, he led the Chiefs to victory in the English Premiership for a second time, beating

again at

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in the final 19-13, and secured a historic English and European Cup double for Exeter Chiefs. Baxter was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

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for services to rugby union.

Personal life

Baxter is married to Jo and has two children, Jack and Annie. They live in Exeter, Devon. In 2017, he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the

References

External links

Exeter profile

Exeter press release - 200 appearances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Rob 1971 births Living people Barbarian F.C. players English rugby union coaches English rugby union players Exeter Chiefs players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Tavistock