Can Exeter complete title-winning turnaround?

In the space of 14 months, Exeter Chiefs have gone from the lowest moment in the club's recent history to the threshold of rugby glory. Last April, footage emerged of chief executive Tony Rowe remonstrating with his players in the dressing room after a humiliating 79-17 defeat to Gloucester—a club record loss. Last week, director of rugby Rob Baxter walked into Exeter's away dressing room at The Rec, whipped off his shirt, and joined the celebrations after his side held off a late Bath surge to win 27-26 and book their first Premiership final appearance in five years.

The scale of the turnaround is staggering. Exeter finished last season second-bottom of the table. On Saturday, they face Northampton Saints at Twickenham with a chance to add a second Premiership title to the one they claimed so memorably in 2017, when Gareth Steenson kicked the winning penalty in front of a packed house.

"It's never come down to one thing, it never does," Baxter told BBC Sport, reflecting on the Gloucester horror show and the path back to contention. "The problem is that a multitude of things added up to mean we weren't really competitive in that game and I think that was the bit that hurt Tony. That was obviously the bit that hurt me."

Baxter's prescription was straightforward, if demanding. "If you can't win, you draw and if you can't draw, you lose by one point. If you can't lose by one point you lose by two," he said. "That's the easiest way for me to wrap it up. You can talk about resilience and all this type of stuff—they're just words."

Former fly-half Steenson, who scored the winning points in Exeter's 2017 triumph and is now attack coach for Ireland's women's team, sees a familiar spirit returning to Sandy Park. "Rob is an emotional guy, very passionate about the club," Steenson told BBC South West. "I think it's just that connection again with the squad—they all feel part of it. They look like a team that's fighting for each other."

One player embodying that fighting spirit is Olly Woodburn. At 34, the winger-turned-full-back has been reinvented after what many thought was his final chance at a Twickenham final had passed. He's now anchoring a back three bursting with youthful talent like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Paul Brown-Bampoe. "I would say it's similar to our first final—not a lot of people thought we'd get there. We were a mid-table team, quite scrappy and overlooked," Woodburn said. "We're back as underdogs and we've reached the final and we've created some huge upsets."

For Exeter, Saturday is not just about winning a trophy. It's about proving that a community club can dig deep, rebuild trust, and find its way back to the top through sheer collective will. The dressing room scenes may have changed dramatically, but the hunger in them has not.