Exeter Chiefs’ Gareth Steenson leaving the Gallagher Premiership side after a 16-year career with the club.
The 40-year-old former playmaker has announced that this is his final season at Sandy Park before returning to Northern Ireland to pursue fresh possibilities.
Steenson has played a vital role in the Devon club’s success. When he was rejected by Ulster as a kid, he used it as motivation to go on to have a successful career with the English rugby superpower.
Chiefs fans will remember his contributions on a gloomy night in Bristol in 2010 as well as his heroics in 2017, which secured Exeter’s first Premiership title.
Steenson’s playing career ended in 2020 with a European and Premiership double, after which he became a coach for the Chiefs.
“I’ve had a fantastic journey, and I’ve been extremely fortunate to be on both sides,” Steenson told the club website. “I’ve been in the locker room, the coach’s office, and I’ve seen it from every perspective.
“Along the way, I’ve met some great people, on the pitch, off the pitch, but for me I think the time is right to move on and look at other opportunities and different things in different fields.”
Gareth Steenson joined Exeter Chiefs in 2009 from the Cornish Pirates and became the club’s all-time leading points-scorer. His notable playing career included winning a European Champions Cup, two Premiership titles, and three Premiership Rugby Cups, one of which he won as a coach.
“It was tough, we’ve been back and forth about this for quite a long time,” added Steenson. “I’d say probably over the last 18 months we’ve talked about the potential of moving back home and we’ve talked about that at great lengths, especially around the kids and the opportunities they are going to get.
“It’s been soul-searching because Exeter has been a big part of my life, especially my adult life, and it’s given me so many great memories and opportunities, so I’ll be eternally grateful to people like Tony Rowe, Rob Baxter, everyone at the club, and, of course, the fans, who have been amazing.
“I take a lot of pride in seeing how they’ve all done and I’d like to think that if I’ve helped them in some kind of way, then that’s a huge thing for me.”
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