Exeter aim to be Euro champs in five years

Matt Jess insists there are “no limits” to what Exeter Chiefs can achieve.
Chiefs came of age as a Premiership outfit two weeks ago, defeating an experienced Northampton side in front of rapturous home support to lift the LV= Cup.
The first stage of building work at Sandy Park has already started, the eventual aim being to create a fully enclosed 20,000-capacity stadium by 2018.
And chief executive Tony Rowe has laid out ambitious plans for on-field domination by predicting Chiefs will become Heineken Cup winners within five years.
That might appear optimistic, but Exeter have made a habit of hitting their targets since the turn of the Millennium – and winger Jess, 29, is not disagreeing. “This club’s got enormous potential,” he told The Rugby Paper. “You can see that with all the youngsters selected for England this season, through what’s going on behind the scenes and how Rob Baxter‘s recruiting top players.
“We’re blooding youth from our academy who are going on to be internationals, like Jack Nowell, Henry Slade, Sam Hill and Dave Ewers, so there’s all those players pushing through and a fair few of us older ones striving to get even better.
“Winning the LV= Cup proves we’re progressing each year and it shows how driven the club is to achieve success at every level, whether that’s on the field or off it through our commercial and stadium development.
“Sandy Park is going to be immense and the atmosphere with 20,000 will be sensational. More people will start coming to watch us and, hopefully, they’ll be bouncing off the walls.
“Can we build on this momentum? I believe we can go the whole hog. If we can win the LV= Cup, what’s next? We can strive to be in the Premiership top four every year, win that and then go on and win the Heineken Cup, too. Can Exeter be as big as Toulon or Clermont? Easy!
“We’re bringing in top players from all over Devon and Cornwall, plus making top quality signings, so all I’m saying is, ‘watch this space’, because Exeter can be one of rugby’s pinnacles.
“It’s not all about money or salary caps, this club is about youth set-ups and hard work. There are no limits to what this club can achieve.”
The irony of last week’s victory over Saints was not lost on Jess, who was once courted by the East Midlands giants after starring against them in National One for lowly Launceston before opting to join Chiefs in 2008.
He has no regrets, adding: “I actually thought about that when I looked across at them from the winner’s podium. They’re a great club so for us to beat a team like that to lift our first top-flight silverware is an outstanding effort. Winning the Championship and being promoted was right up there, but to win something as a Premiership team probably tops it.”
NEALE HARVEY